Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Sarcomas in children with neurofibromatosis type 1—poor prognosis despite aggressive combined therapy in four patients treated in a single oncological institution

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Child's Nervous System Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objects

Patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are predisposed to developing soft tissue sarcomas (STS).

Materials and methods

We report on four cases of STS diagnosed in locally advanced, unresectable stages in children with NF1 (three girls, one boy; age = 8 months–14 years). All patients received protocols for STS: Cooperative Weichteilsarkomstudie 91, 96 and 2002. One patient with limb rhabdomyosarcoma entered complete remission but developed late metastatic relapse and died of progression despite complete excision and autologous bone marrow transplantation. The other patient with bladder rhabdomyosarcoma died of neutropenia-related sepsis without remission. Patients with malignant peripheral nerve sheet tumour and malignant triton tumour located in the pelvis did not respond to therapy. One of them died of disease progression, while the other is disease-free 6 years post-therapy after mutilating tumour resection.

Conclusion

STS in NF1 seem to display poor prognosis in spite of combined therapy; thus, children with NF1 should remain under detailed control of the oncologist.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Carli M, Ferrari A, Mattke A et al (2005) Pediatric malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor: the Italian and German soft tissue sarcoma cooperative group. J Clin Oncol 23:8422–8430

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Coffin CM, Cassity J, Viskochil D, Randall RL, Albritton K (2004) Non-neurogenic sarcomas in four children and young adults with neurofibromatosis type 1. Am J Med Genet 127A:40–43

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Enzinger FM, Weiss SW (eds) (1995) Soft tissue tumours, 3rd edn. C.V. Mosby, St. Louis, pp 821–928

    Google Scholar 

  4. Evans DGR, Baser ME, McGaughran J, Sharif S, Howard E, Moran A (2002) Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours in neurofibromatosis 1. J Med Genet 39:311–314

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Frustaci S, Gherlinzoni F, De Paoli A, Bonetti M, Azzarelli A, Comandone A, Olmi P, Buonadonna A, Pignatti G, Barbieri E, Apice G, Zmerly H, Serraino D, Picci P (2001) Adjuvant chemotherapy for adult soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and girdles: results of the Italian Randomized Cooperative Trial. J Clin Oncol 19:1238–1247

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hirsch NP, Murphy A, Radcliffe JJ (2001) Neurofibromatosis: clinical presentations and anaesthetic implications. Br J Anaesth 86:555–564

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Koga T, Iwasaki H, Ishiguro M, Matsuzaki A, Kikuchi M (2002) Frequent genomic imbalances in chromosomes 17, 19 and 22q in peripheral nerve sheath tumours detected by comparative genomic hybridization analysis. J Pathol 197:98–107

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Korf BR (2001) Diagnosis and management of neurofibromatosis type 1. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 1:162–167

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Liew MA, Coffin CM, Fletcher JA, Hang MT, Tanito K, Niimura M, Viskochil D (2002) Peripheral nerve sheath tumors from patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 do not have the chromosomal translocation t(X;18). Pediatr Dev Pathol 5:165–169

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Malerba M, Garofalo A (2003) A rare case of nerve-sheath sarcoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (malignant triton tomor). Tumori 89:246–250

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. McGaughran JM, Harris DI, Donnai D, Teare D, MacLeod R, Westerbeek R, Kingston H, Super M, Harris R, Evans DGR (1999) A clinical study of type I neurofibromatosis in north west England. J Med Genet 36:197–203

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Meis JM, Enzinger FM, Martz KL, Neal JA (1992) Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (malignant schwannoma) in children. Am J Surg Pathol 16:694–707

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Neville H, Corpron C, Blakely ML, Andrassy R (2003) Pediatric neurofibrosarcoma. J Pediatr Surg 38:343–346

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Re M, Romeo R, Malardi V (2002) paralateral–nasal malignant schwannoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (Triton tumor). Report of a case. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital 22:245–247

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Reich S, Overberg-Schmidt US, Leenen A, Henze G (1999) Neurofibromatosis 1 associated with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the urinary bladder. Pediatr Hematol Oncol 16:263–266

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Sung L, Anderson JR, Arndt C Raney RB, Meyer WH, Pappo AS (2004) Neurofibromatosis in children with Rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma study IV. J Pediatr 144:666–668

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Szudek J, Birch P, Friedman JM (2000) The National Neurofibromatosis Foundation International Database Participants: growth in North American white children with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). J Med Genet 37:933–938

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Thierny JF (1997) Sarcoma meta-analysis collaboration adjuvant chemotherapy for localized respectable soft tissue sarcoma of adults: meta-analysis of individual data. Lancet 350:1647–1654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Waggoner DJ, Towbin J, Gottesman G, Gutmann DH (2000) Clinic-based study of plexiform neurofibromas in neurofibromatosis 1. Am J Med Genet 92:132–135

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Yakulis R, Manack L, Murphy AI Jr (1996) Postradiation malignant triton tumor. A case report and review of the literature. Arch Pathol Lab Med 120:541–548

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ewa Bien.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bien, E., Stachowicz-Stencel, T., Sierota, D. et al. Sarcomas in children with neurofibromatosis type 1—poor prognosis despite aggressive combined therapy in four patients treated in a single oncological institution. Childs Nerv Syst 23, 1147–1153 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-007-0392-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-007-0392-8

Keywords

Navigation