[Alveolar soft part sarcoma of the extremities: an evaluation of four cases]

We presented four patients (3 women, 1 man; mean age 40 years; range 20 to 56 years) who had alveolar soft part sarcoma in the left arm, right elbow, right tibia, and left thigh, respectively. All the patients presented with a mass. Two patients had lung metastasis at the time of diagnosis. T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images of all the patients showed a soft tissue lesion with hyperintense signal changes and heterogeneous contrast enhancement. Diagnoses were made by histopathologic examination of biopsy samples. All the patients received chemotherapy. Surgical resection was performed in three patients. Two patients with involvement of the left arm and right elbow died within three years after diagnosis. One patient with involvement of the left thigh developed lung and brain metastases at the end of postoperative eight years. One patient with tibial involvement remained disease-free during 10 months of follow-up.