Liposarcoma

The 1994 WHO classification divides liposarcomas into five categories:

Liposarcomas are rare in children and adolescents but most such cases are myxoid liposarcomas. In this age group, low and high grade variants termed respectively spindle cell myxoid liposarcoma and pleomorphic myxoid liposarcoma have been proposed2.

Prognosis is primarily dependent on tumour location. Subcutaneous and intramuscular tumours may recur locally but do not kill. Those in deep central sites, except for conventional atypical lipomatous tumours, recur and are difficult to control1.

1 Evans HL Atypical lipomatous tumor, its variants, and its combined forms: a study of 61 cases, with a minimum follow-up of 10 years. Am J Surg Pathol 2007; 31:1-14

2 Alaggio R, Coffin CM, Weiss SW, et al. Liposarcomas in young patients: a study of 82 cases occurring in patients younger than 22 years of age. Am J Surg Pathol 2009; 33:645-58