The clinical and pathological features of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma:17 cases review

Objective To review the clinical and pathological features of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma(PSC).Methods Clinical and pathologic data of 17 patients with PSC,which defined diagnosis with pathology,were reviewed.Results It showed that PSC mostly involved the upper lobe of right lung.The clinical manifestations and chest imaging of PSC were similar to that of other types of non small cell lung carcinomas(NSCLC).Multiphasic PSC was mixed with epithelial component of carcinomas(including adenocarcinoma,giant cell carcinoma,squamous cell carcinoma and bronchioalveolar carcinoma) and sarcomatoid carcinoma(SC) in 10 patients.Monophasic PSC was entirely SC in other 7 patients.The immunohistochemical results showed that Vimentin was detected in 11 cases,CK was positive in 8 cases,AE3 was positive in 4 cases and AE1 was positive in 3 cases,EMA was positive in 2 cases.Conclusion It showed that the final diagnosis of PSC was based on histopathology.The immunohistochemical staining of Vimentin,CK,AE1/AE3 and EMA may be helpful for diagnosis.