Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma metastatic to the pancreas: a case report

Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma (EMC) is a low-grade sarcoma characterized by developing metastases and local recurrence in high rate. It is mainly deep seated in the proximal extremities. The most common metastatic sites are the lungs, soft tissues, lymph nodes, bones and the brain. To our knowledge, no case of clearly defined EMC has been reported to date developing a metastasis in the pancreas. We describe a case of a man suffering from EMC who developed a single pancreatic metastasis 20 years after the initial diagnosis. A 49-year-old man was submitted to surgical excision of an EMC, in left thigh, 20 years ago. Fourteen years after the initial diagnosis a local recurrence in left thigh occurred. Multiple lesions of metastatic origin, in both lungs, were excised via thoracotomies until the time being. In 2003, as a part of a periodically performed imaging control, an abdominal CT scan was performed revealing a solid lesion in the pancreas. Distal pancreatectomy was performed. The histopathology of the excised specimen proved to be the one of metastatic lesion of EMC. The above-mentioned case of EMC is, as far as we know, the first one described developing a certain pancreatic metastasis.