Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma of the cecum: a radiation-associated tumor in a previously unreported site

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2007 Dec;131(12):1825-8. doi: 10.5858/2007-131-1825-SEFOTC.

Abstract

Data from the nuclear reactor explosion in Chernobyl and the atomic bomb detonations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrated an association between ionizing radiation and tumoriogenesis. There is a significant association between external beam radiation and radiation-induced sarcoma. Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma is a rare form of malignant fibrosarcoma that is low grade and indolent with distinct immunohistopathologic characteristics that usually occurs in the soft tissues of the extremities. A 62-year-old man from Kiev who aided in the cleanup at Chernobyl presented with crampy abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. His workup revealed a cecal mass, and the final pathology from his laparotomy confirmed sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma with metastasis to the liver. In addition to a review of the literature, we report the first case of sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma arising from the large bowel. Exposure to ionizing radiation from Chernobyl could have played a role in the development of his tumor.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Cecum / pathology*
  • Cecum / radiation effects*
  • Chernobyl Nuclear Accident*
  • Fibrosarcoma / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Intestinal Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / pathology*