Malignant transformation of Madelung’s disease in a patient with a coincidental diagnosis of breast cancer: a case report

Abstract

Madelung’s disease or multiple symmetric lipomatosis (MSL) is a rare disorder of unknown etiology which typically presents symmetrically subcutaneous accumulation of non-encapsulated adipose tissue which slowly grows around the neck, upper part of the arms, pelvis, back and thigh. This disease is also frequently associated with hepatopathy, glucose intolerance, hyperuricemia, and malignant tumors of the upper airways. Nevertheless, only one description of malignant transformation of Madelung’s disease has been presented in literature. Here, we report a case of liposarcomatous transformation of Madelung’s disease in a 59-year-old Italian woman with a coincidental diagnosis of breast cancer.Virtual slideThe virtual slide for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/3480884087499351

State of diagnostic quandary solved by modern technology: a rare case of Madelung's disease

“…Surgery, such as liposuction, is another option—for removal of pre-existing lipid collections to relieve any compression symptoms. Although Enzi et al reported that MLD is associated with significant morbidity, MLD can rarely transform into liposarcoma, and there are only two documented cases in the literature 6 18 19. One salient point we would like to make in this case, was failure to get this ‘hidden diagnosis’ during previous hospital admissions, even though the patient had unique physical characteristics.…”

Multiple Symmetric Lipomatosis: A Diagnostic Dilemma

“…Routine chest radiographs may show abnormal symmetrical adipose mass accumulation. MRI is the best diagnostic tool in evaluation of the spread of adipose tissue, presence of tracheal compression, vascular topography within the fat mass, and exclusion of synchronous malignant disease [17]. However, overlap in a clinical appearance with other diseases can sometimes be misleading.…”

Second Primary Malignancies in Patients with Well-differentiated/Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma

“…There are numerous previous case reports of concurrent cancer (Table III) (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) in WD/DD liposarcoma which add further evidence to support our observation; however, to our knowledge, the current study is the first to report data from a large case series and provide data from analysis of a national population-based cancer database to assess this occurrence. This study raises questions regarding the etiology of second primary cancer in patients with WD/DD liposarcoma.…”