BRONCHOPULMONARY CARCINOSARCOMA

Introduction. - Bronchopulmonary carcinosarcoma is an uncommon neoplas m consisting of mixed malignant epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Exeg esis. - We report a case of bronchopulmonary carcinosarcoma in a 62-ye ar-old man illustrating some characteristics of this tumor of poor pro gnosis and unknown histogenesis. Conclusion. - Bronchopulmonary carcin osarcoma has clinical and X rays features identical to those of bronch opulmonary epithelial malignant tumors. Most of the authors consider t hat a totipotential cell might be at the origin of this ''mixed'' tumo r. Although 90% of bronchopulmonary carcinosarcomas are resectable, th eir prognosis is worse than that of other lung cancers, with a 6-month median survival. (C) 1998, Elsevier, Paris.