Primary intracranial fibrosarcoma

Abstract

Introduction. Primary fibrosarcomas of the brain are very rare tumors, so that information regarding the treatment is scarce. We report the contributions that different therapeutic options made to the treatment of a child with one of these aggressive tumors.

Case report. A 13-year-old boy underwent a complete resection of a left temporo-parietal mass that had been diagnosed as a fibrosarcoma by two independent pathologists. Adjuvant chemotherapy with vincristine, actinomycin-D, ifosfamide and Adriamycin was started, but after 3 months tumor relapse was evident. The boy subsequently received radiation therapy during which there was evidence of progressive tumor shrinkage. A second surgery was performed 6 months after radiotherapy and a small enhancing lesion, revealed to be gliosis, was resected. The child remains alive and well 44 months after diagnosis.

Conclusion. Our experience supports the importance of total resection followed by radiation therapy, and radiotherapy should be started as soon as possible after surgical resection, rather than administering chemotherapy first.