Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2022 May 11:26:101580.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2022.101580. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Conjunctival leiomyosarcoma

Affiliations
Case Reports

Conjunctival leiomyosarcoma

Aluisio Rosa Gameiro Filho et al. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose: Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a mesenchymal neoplasm with smooth muscle differentiation, being considered one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas. However, it rarely affects the eye, and when it does, it is usually located in the orbit, being extremely rare in the conjunctiva.

Observations: We report a case of a 45 years old male patient, with a recurrent rapid growing conjunctival mass on the temporal limbus of his left eye, which was excised, and the anatomopathological report was suggestive of a grade 1 leiomyosarcoma. Since the lesion was recurrent, we decided to perform an extended enucleation for treating this condition. Nevertheless, the patient is being followed up to 30 months, with systemic metastasis screening, showing no other lesions or recurrences.

Conclusions and importance: Conjunctival leiomyosarcoma is an extremely rare ocular tumor, which can be clinically indistinguishable from other conditions such as squamous cell carcinoma, so, biopsy is essential. Albeit there is no standard treatment, complete surgical removal with safety margins is mandatory.

Keywords: Conjunctiva; Eye; Leiomyosarcoma; Sarcoma; Soft tissue tumours; Tumor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Biomicroscopy showing a whitish elevated and vascularized lesion in the temporal limbus and temporal conjuntiva. An infiltrative aspect is noticeable, as well as extension to the cornea, which presents folds in the perilesional region. A retraction of the tarsal conjunctiva can also be seen.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Histopathological analysis showing atypical fusiform cells and nuclear pleomorphism (A). Atypical mitosis can be seen on image B (Hematoxylin-Eosin staining 400x).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Histopathological analysis showing scleral invasion (image A, H-E 100x) and corneal invasion (image B, H-E 40x).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Immunohistochemistry analysis shows staining for A = Smooth muscle actin (200x). B= Calponin (400x). C = Desmin (400x).

References

    1. Gotee J., Sioda N., Aurit S., Curtin C., Silberstein P. Important prognostic factors in leiomyosarcoma survival: a National Cancer Database (NCDB) analysis. Clin Transl Oncol. 2020;22(6):860–869. - PubMed
    1. De Groote V., Verhelst E., Hogendoorn P.C.W., de Keizer R.J.W. Conjunctival leiomyosarcoma, a rare neoplasm always originating at the limbus? Report of a new case and review of 11 published cases. Ocul Oncol Pathol. 2019;5(5):333–339. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fourneaux B., Bourdon A., Dadone B., et al. Identifying and targeting cancer steam cells in leiomyosarcoma: prognostic impact and role to overcome secondary resistance to PI3K/Mtor inhibition. J Hematol Oncol. 2019;12(1) - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wolff-Rouendaal D. Xeroderma pigmentosum with ophthalmological symptoms. Ophthalmologica. 1976;173(3-4):290–291. - PubMed
    1. White V.A., Damji K.F., Richards J.S., Rootman J. Leiomyosarcoma of the conjunctiva. Ophthalmol. 1991;98(10):1560–1564. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources