Mediastinal composite hemangioendothelioma. A rare tumor at an unusual location.

Composite hemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor; only 12 cases have been previously described in the extremities, tongue and axilla. We report the first case of composite hemangioendothelioma of the mediastinum in a 50-year-old woman. She was admitted to our hospital with dyspnea and cough lasting for two months. Her chest roentgenogram and computed tomography showed a 6 x 4 x 3 cm mass in the middle mediastinum compressing the trachea. She underwent total sternotomy and resection of the mass. Microscopically the most important feature at low power was the variability in the histological pattern. This case is presented not only for the rarity of the tumor type but also for its unusual location.