[A neuron-specific enolase (NSE) positive leiomyosarcoma]

A 40-year-old woman with multiple skin tumors was admitted to our hospital on September 5, 1989. Extensive studies by means of light and electron-microscopic examination and immunohistochemical analysis revealed a neuron-specific enolase (NSE) positive leiomyosarcoma. The level of her elevated serum NSE decreased after receiving her initial chemotherapy, but after the fourth session of chemotherapy, the NSE began to elevate again and she died on December 25, 1989. NSE appears to be a useful marker for determining if the neuronal and neuroendocrine cells are normal. This rare case, however, seems to demonstrate that abnormal, nonneuronal cells like a sarcoma also open metabolic pathways to synthesize NSE.