Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors With Atypical Presentations: A Report of 34 Cases

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is an aggressive round cell sarcoma that arises in the abdominal cavity/pelvis of young males. We sought to expand its clinicopathologic spectrum.

Cases of DSRCT presenting in patients >30 years of age or tumors arising outside of the abdominal cavity/pelvis were retrieved.

Thirty-four cases were identified. Sixteen tumors arose at atypical sites (head/neck, intracranial, thigh, axilla/shoulder, inguinal/paratesticular, intraosseous, and uterine corpus). The remaining 18 patients were older than 30 years, and their tumors involved the abdomen or pelvis. The majority of cases showed areas with classic histology, while 6 cases exhibited solid growth and 5 showed macronodular architecture. Cytologic appearance included round cell, rhabdoid, epithelioid, and small cell.

DSRCT may arise at nonabdominal locations in both pediatric and adult populations, as well as intra-abdominally in older adults, and these tumors exhibit high rates of metastasis and morbidity.