Sudden progressive abdominal pain due to large peritoneal desmoid tumor: A case report with review of literature

A Giant Sporadic Intra-abdominal Desmoid Tumor in a Male Patient: A Case Report

Desmoid tumors (DTs) are rare locally aggressive benign soft tissue tumors with an estimated annual incidence of two to four new cases per million people. The giant intra-abdominal mass presents a diagnostic challenge that includes a broad differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), fibrosarcoma, retroperitoneal fibrosis, and other malignancies from adjacent organs. We report a case of a 38-year-old male patient with a giant intra‑abdominal mass. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen and pelvis indicated mucinous cystic neoplasm or gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), but histopathology confirmed it to be a desmoid tumor. The patient was discharged, and on follow-up five months until now, there is no recurrence. This case highlighted the importance of including DT in the differential diagnosis of very large intra‑abdominal masses.

Sporadic giant intra-abdominal desmoid tumor: A radiological case report

Desmoid tumor (DT) is a locally invasive form of fibromatosis, comprising only 0.03% of all tumors. DTs occur more frequently in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis and Gardner's syndrome, as intra-abdominal or anterior abdominal wall tumors, whereas sporadic DTs are more likely to be extra-abdominal (only 5% of sporadic DTs are intra-abdominal). There is also an association of DTs with prior trauma, surgery, estrogen exposure and childbirth. Imaging studies, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used for preoperative diagnosis and for the planning of the surgery. Following surgery, CT and MRI are used to detect recurrence and to monitor the tumor's response to radiotherapy or medical therapy for unresectable or recurrent tumors. We herein report a rare case of a sporadic giant intra-abdominal DT in a 28-year-old female patient without any predisposing factors, and highlight the importance of including DT in the differential diagnosis of huge intra-abdominal masses.