Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma of the Thoracic Aorta: A Case Report

Primary sarcomas of the great vessels are extremely uncommon tumors, with aortic sarcoma being the rarest type. They tend to occur in the thoracic aorta, followed by the abdominal aorta and the thoracoabdominal aorta. They have a propensity for metastases and they cause acute arterial embolism (1). Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, also called malignant fibrous histiocytoma, has been defined as a group of pleomorphic, high-grade sarcomas that fail to show any line of differentiation using currently available ancillary techniques (2). To the best of our knowledge, no fewer than 24 cases of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma originating from the aorta have been reported in the worldwide literature, but imaging findings have been rarely reported (3-7). Herein, we describe the case of a 67-year-old male who had a primary undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of the descending thoracic aorta with an emphasis on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. CASE REPORT