[A case of malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor of the retroperitoneum with multiple metastases]

Korean J Gastroenterol. 2014 Nov;64(5):302-6. doi: 10.4166/kjg.2014.64.5.302.
[Article in Korean]

Abstract

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are unusual mesenchymal neoplasms composed of histologically and immunohistochemically distinct perivascular epithelioid cells (PECs). Although PEComas have the potential to behave in a malignant fashion, malignant PEComas arising from the retroperitoneum are extremely rare. A 68-year-old woman presented with a painful palpable mass in her left upper abdomen. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed a 9 cm sized heterogeneous mass in left para-aortic space and multiple hypervascular nodules in the liver. (18)F-fludeoxyglucose-PET/CT showed multifocal hyper-metabolic lesions in retroperitoneum, liver, and skeletal bones. Percutaneous needle biopsies were done on the retroperitoneal and hepatic mass. Both specimens were positive for human melanoma black-45 (HMB-45) on histological and immunohistochemical staining which was compatible with PEComas. Herein, we report a rare case of retroperitoneal PEComa with multiple metastases involving liver and bone at initial diagnosis that exhibited aggressive behavior and resulted in a devastating prognosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Bone Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Bone Neoplasms / pathology
  • Bone Neoplasms / secondary
  • Female
  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Liver Neoplasms / pathology
  • Liver Neoplasms / secondary
  • Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Neoplasms / pathology
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Fluorodeoxyglucose F18