Background: Aggressive angiomyxoma (AAM) is a tumor of the soft tissues pre
dominantely occurring in the genital and pelvic area with a strong propensi
ty to local recurrences. The entity was first described in 1983. The tumor
is regarded as low-grade sarcoma by some authors; its cause and pathogenesi
s are presently unknown.
Patient and Method: This is a case report on a 27-year-old man who underwen
t 4 surgical procedures of the left lower extremity because of a recurrent
soft tissue neoplasm, initially (August 1993) diagnosed as a myxolipoma. Th
e patient suffered from recurrences in February 1995, September 1996 and Fe
bruary 1998. The diagnosis was revised at the time of the latest recurrence
. A palliative resection with macroscopic residuals left was performed in F
ebruary 1998, followed by a radiation therapy with 56 Cy total dose and a c
oncomitant administration of the radiosensitizer razoxane per os. The singl
e radiation doses were 200 cGy 5 times a week.
Results: The small residuals of the tumor obviously regressed although an o
bjective response could not be shown because the lesion was not clearly mea
surable. A follow-up 2 years after the radiation treatment revealed no recu
rrence. The time of the local control achieved as yet is already longer tha
n any former time to regrowth between the surgical procedures. This is, to
our knowlegde, the first description of a therapeutic irradiation of a recu
rrent aggressive angiomyxoma.
Conclusion: Radiation therapy combined with the sensitizer razoxane is able
to control a recurrent AAM for an unknown time. It remains open whether a
radiation treatment alone would have had a similar effect.