Primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy: a clinicopathologic report of 6 cases.
Soft tissue sarcomas in the first year of life are rare, and the most common sarcomas in infancy are embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor, congenital infantile fibrosarcoma, and primitive sarcomas such as undifferentiated sarcoma. In this study, we report 6 cases of a primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy (PMMTI), which previously may have been included under the diagnostic categories of congenital-infantile fibrosarcoma or infantile fibromatosis. PMMTI occurred in 6 infants, 3 of whom had a congenital presentation of a soft tissue mass. All patients were otherwise healthy. The tumors occurred on the trunk, extremities, and head and neck. Grossly, the tumors were nonencapsulated and had a multinodular appearance with focal infiltrative growth, a white fleshy cut surface, and a tumor diameter ranging from 2 to 15 cm. Histologically, a diffuse growth of primitive spindle, polygonal, and round cells occurred in a myxoid background. The tumor cells were arranged in a vaguely nodular pattern with peripheral collagenized stroma, higher cellularity at the periphery, and a delicate vascular network in the background. Immunohistochemically, the tumors displayed diffuse reactivity for vimentin and no reactivity for smooth muscle actin, muscle specific actin, desmin, S-100 protein, or myogenin. Electron microscopy documented a poorly differentiated fibroblastic proliferation. Four cases tested negative for the ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion by RT-PCR. One tumor had a complex karyotypic abnormality with rearrangements involving chromosomes Y, 9, and 3. Three patients had recurrences or metastasis treated with a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. One patient is alive with persistent locally aggressive disease, 2 are alive with no evidence of recurrence, 1 had a recurrence treated surgically without further follow-up information, 1 patient died with persistent tumor and sepsis 6 weeks after diagnosis, and 1 patient was lost to follow-up. The morphologic appearance combined with the ultrastructural features and absence of the typical gene rearrangement of congenital-infantile fibrosarcoma are unique, and we propose that PMMTI represents a new category of pediatric fibroblastic-myofibroblastic tumor.
Alaggio
Rita
R
Department of Oncology and Surgery, Section of Pathology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Ninfo
Vito
V
Rosolen
Angelo
A
Coffin
Cheryl M
CM
D018223:Dermatofibrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005354:Fibrosarcoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D018317:Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D020812:Receptor, trkC; D000097764:ETS Translocation Variant 6 Protein
D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; C484319:ETV6-NTRK3 fusion protein, human; D020812:Receptor, trkC; D000097764:ETS Translocation Variant 6 Protein