[Fibromyxoid sarcoma of the pancreas]

Fibromyxoid sarcoma is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm, usually appearing in the soft tissue of the extremities, less frequently in the groin, trunk, neck, and upper extremities. Within the abdomen, the tumour is usually localised within the retroperitoneum.

We present a 56-year-old woman in whom, during the routinely performed investigation for atacks of choking with lots of bronchial secretion, and arterial hypertension, an ultrasonographer found a tumour within the head of the pancreas 6 x 6 cm in diameter. At operation, a dark pink, lobulated soft tumour, surrounded by a tiny capsule, clearly different from the completely normal pancreatic tissue of the posterior side of the head of the pancreas, was easily and ideally excised. The postoperative recovery was stormy. She developed postoperative pancreatitis, temporary biliary and duodenal fistula, which all settled by conservative treatment. The histology of the 80 g weighing tumour showed a circumscribed fibromyxoid sarcoma of low malignancy. Immunohistochemistry showed diffuse vimentin and CD34 strong positivity, as well as focal anti-SMA and anti-EMA immunopositivity. Six months after surgery, she died with signs of cerebrovascular insult, asthmatic status, and recurrent suppurative abdominal fistula, probably related to the previous pancreatitis. Ultrasonography showed a possible liver secondary. The exact cause of death was not confirmed as the autopsy was refused by the family.

Primary sarcomas of the pancreas are very rare, but should be considered in differential diagnosis of pancreatic neoplasms. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no previously described fibromyxoid sarcoma of the pancreas.