Surgical management of giant retroperitoneal liposarcoma: a case report and review of the literature.

Liposarcoma is a rare malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin. It accounts for ~7% of all mesenchymal sarcomas and 1% of cancers in general. Its incidence does not exceed 2.5 cases per million inhabitants per year. This tumor is generally locally invasive, often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and can grow to a considerable size and weight, culminating in a locally advanced form. We report a case of a 65-year-old patient with retroperitoneal liposarcoma treated by open surgical resection. The patient was admitted for the management of an abdomino-pelvic mass measuring 40 × 27 × 17 cm, progressively evolving over 5 years. The diagnosis was established by computed tomography scan. The postoperative course was uneventful, and after 1 year of chemotherapy, the patient died of respiratory distress.