Bilateral symmetrical metachronous myxofibrosarcoma: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare. Affected patients are at increased risk of developing a second primary malignancy, particularly another primary STS. These rarely affect the extremities, tending to occur in the abdomen, head or neck. We describe a patient with myxofibrosarcoma of the buttock who developed a second primary tumour of the same histological type in the contralateral buttock thirty months after excision. Remarkably, the second tumour was symmetrical and there were no predisposing factors or evidence of metastatic spread. The second tumour was a significant size at presentation with encasement of the sciatic nerve. Awareness of the sarcoma patient's increased risk of developing a second tumour could lead to earlier diagnosis and improved outcome. A review of the literature on multiple soft tissue sarcomas is also presented.