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Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma of the Deep (Paralaryngeal) Soft Tissue: Lessons Learnt from a Case with a Partly Deceptively Benign Appearing Dedifferentiated Component

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Abstract

We present a case (female, 61 years of age) of dedifferentiated liposarcoma of the deep, cervical (paralaryngeal) soft tissue with a significant myxoid component and characteristic immunohistochemical (strong and diffuse expression of p16, mdm2 and cdk4 in both the well differentiated liposarcomatous and dedifferentiated components) and molecular genetic findings (MDM2-gene amplification on fluorescence in situ hybridization). The myxoid component which was present in the well differentiated liposarcomatous component gave the tumor atypical radiological features. The case presented initial diagnostic difficulties, mainly because of the bland histomorphological appearance of the limited biopsy material from the sampled non-lipogenic, dedifferentiated component. The dedifferentiated part of the tumor turned out to harbor significant heterogeneity with regards to cellularity, cytomorphology and proliferative activity.

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Acknowledgement

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Pathology Department at Singapore General Hospital for their assistance with immunohistochemistry for mdm2 and cdk4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, National University Health System, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Singapore

    Fredrik Petersson

  2. Department of Otolaryngology, Alexandra Hospital, Jurong Health Services, Singapore, Singapore

    Euan Murugasu

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  1. Fredrik Petersson
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  2. Euan Murugasu
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Correspondence to Fredrik Petersson.

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Petersson, F., Murugasu, E. Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma of the Deep (Paralaryngeal) Soft Tissue: Lessons Learnt from a Case with a Partly Deceptively Benign Appearing Dedifferentiated Component. Head and Neck Pathol 8, 171–177 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-013-0472-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-013-0472-x

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