Small-cell extraskeletal osteosarcoma: case report and literature review

Small-cell extraskeletal osteosarcoma is extremely rare and consists of sheets of small round cells with variable amounts of osteoid. This tumor is often difficult to diagnose when tissue samples do not include recognizable osteoid. Only four cases have been reported in English and none in Chinese. We report a typical case of small-cell extraskeletal osteosarcoma occurring in the left leg of a 40-year-old female. Laboratory results were within normal limits. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a soft tissue mass measuring 36 mm × 18 mm in the medial lateral aspect of left limb. The initial histological findings led to a misdiagnosis because the first fine-needle biopsy was randomized and incomplete. However, an open surgical specimen showed recognizable osteoid, which enabled us to make a definitive diagnosis. We also present clinical, radiologic and pathologic features of this case.