Primary Knee Intra-articular Synovial Sarcoma in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients

Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2021 Mar-Apr;24(2):159-163. doi: 10.1177/1093526620981368. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Abstract

Synovial sarcoma (SS) arising within a knee joint is extremely rare, with 10 reported cases in pediatric and adolescent patients in English literature. Its rarity and nonspecific clinical and radiological features pose a diagnostic challenge. We present two cases of primary intra-articular SS of left knee to enhance awareness of this entity. One patient is a 17-year-old male complained of left knee pain and gait abnormality for 9 years. The other one is a 13-year-old female presented with left knee pain for one year. Both cases were clinically diagnosed as benign joint lesion and underwent biopsies. Histological examination, immunohistochemical staining and molecular study confirmed that both patients had primary intra-articular SS, monophasic spindle cell type. Intraarticular SS should be considered as a potential diagnosis with unexplained long-standing knee pain.

Keywords: delayed diagnosis; intra-articular lesion; intra-articular tumor; knee pain; soft tissue sarcoma; synovial sarcoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Knee Joint / pathology*
  • Male
  • Sarcoma, Synovial / diagnosis*
  • Sarcoma, Synovial / pathology
  • Soft Tissue Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Soft Tissue Neoplasms / pathology