Unusual course of a hemangiopericytoma

Background: Hemangiopericytomas, rare perivascular tumors, normally tend to be well circumscribed, however, since some have a malignant behavior they are recognized to be potentially malignant. Case Report: In the case presented here, we report the medical history of a 46- year-old man with a hemangiopericytoma of the nose. In 1983, the tumor was surgically removed, and histological examination revealed no signs of malignancy. In 1987, a local recurrence was removed followed by X-irradiati on. In March 1995, the patient presented with multiple hepatic and bone met astases. Chemotherapy with ifosfamide (5 g/m(2), day 1) and epirubicin (50 mg/m(2), day 1) was performed. After three courses of chemotherapy a tumor stabilization was achieved. In November 1995, however, a massive progressio n of the hepatic lesions was found. Therefore, six courses of a second-line chemotherapy with dacarbazine (200 mg/m(2), day 1 to 5) and adriamycin (60 mg/m(2), day 1) were applied. A partial remission was achieved lasting unt il November 1996. A couple of weeks later the patient died due to hepatic f ailure. Conclusion: Despite of unacceptably low survival rates in patients with adv anced soft tissue sarcomas (especially after pretreatment with ionizing rad iation) our report demonstrates that it is also possible to induce long las ting remissions without altered quality of life.