Primary ovarian fibrosarcoma: a case report and review of the literature

From oncogenes to tumor suppressors: The dual role of ncRNAs in fibrosarcoma

Fibrosarcoma is a challenging cancer originating from fibrous tissues, marked by aggressive growth and limited treatment options. The discovery of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), has opened new pathways for understanding and treating this malignancy. These ncRNAs play crucial roles in gene regulation, cellular processes, and the tumor microenvironment. This review aims to explore the impact of ncRNAs on fibrosarcoma's pathogenesis, progression, and resistance to treatment, focusing on their mechanistic roles and therapeutic potential. A comprehensive review of literature from databases like PubMed and Google Scholar was conducted, focusing on the dysregulation of ncRNAs in fibrosarcoma, their contribution to tumor growth, metastasis, drug resistance, and their cellular pathway interactions. NcRNAs significantly influence fibrosarcoma, affecting cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and angiogenesis. Their function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors makes them promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Understanding their interaction with the tumor microenvironment is essential for developing more effective treatments for fibrosarcoma. Targeting ncRNAs emerges as a promising strategy for fibrosarcoma therapy, offering hope to overcome the shortcomings of existing treatments. Further investigation is needed to clarify specific ncRNAs' roles in fibrosarcoma and to develop ncRNA-based therapies, highlighting the significance of ncRNAs in improving patient outcomes in this challenging cancer.

Rare histopathological finding of ovarian pseudotumor: A case report

An inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a benign, rare chronic inflammatory process that is destructive to normal histology of the involved organs. While IPT most frequently affects the lung and orbits, it can occur in almost any part of the body. Additionally, histopathological examination is often difficult to interpret, typically showing myofibroblasts and mixed inflammatory and spindle-shaped cells. The histopathological picture may resemble low grade fibrosarcoma with inflammatory cells, making the differentiation between benign and malignant diseases more difficult and potentially requiring specialized histopathological studies. In the present study, a 39-year-old healthy female patient with no history of sexual activity presented to The Specialty Hospital (Amman Jordan) in January 2023 with mild lower abdominal pain. A pelvic ultrasound scan showed a complex right ovarian cyst measuring 6.0x6.5 cm. Tumor markers were normal. The patient underwent laparotomy with an ovarian cystectomy and left ovarian, omental and peritoneal biopsies. The histopathology of the cyst was suggestive of IPT. Other histopathological results were normal. The patient was followed up for 1 year after surgery with no recurrence of the disease.

Ovarian fibrosarcoma: A single-institution experience and a review of the literature

Ovarian fibrosarcoma is an extremely rare and malignant sex cord-stromal tumor. Due to its low incidence and poor prognosis, until now, very few cases have been reported, and most of the reported cases have been sporadic. Therefore, the treatments and prognostic factors of ovarian fibrosarcoma are still debatable. Here, we report 5 cases of ovarian fibrosarcoma that presented at Peking Union Medical College Hospital over the past 20 years. The 5 patients were 41, 51, 54, 76, and 76 years of age when initial symptoms of pelvic mass or pain appeared. On ultrasound, this disease usually manifests as unilateral pelvic masses, within which uneven echo enhancement and some blood flow signals are observed. No significant increase was observed in the levels of preoperative tumor markers, such as serum CA125 and sex hormones. The final diagnosis depends on postoperative histopathological results since these tumors are easily misdiagnosed when intraoperative frozen sections are used for examination. Pathologic examinations showed that the tumor cells were spindle-shaped with moderate to severe atypia and high mitotic counts. The immunohistochemistry profile is not specific, but the positive rate of Ki-67 was consistent with the degree of malignancy and the prognosis of patients with this tumor. In addition, the tumor may also be positive for Vimentin, α-inhibin, SMA, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor. Significant differences were observed in the surgical methods used, and no unified chemotherapy regimen has been established. The overall survival was > 15, >7, > 6, <1, and < 1 year for each patient. After reviewing the literature, evidence-based large-scale case studies were lacking. For treatments, complete cytoreductive surgery plus regimens typically used against malignant sex cord-stromal tumors, as described in the NCCN guidelines, are recommended. Due to its low incidence, both multicenter clinical studies and molecular studies are required to provide gynecologists with a better understanding and guidance for future management of patients with ovarian fibrosarcoma.

Nuclear Atypia Is a Necessary Factor for Diagnosis of Primary Ovarian Fibrosarcoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

INTRODUCTION

Primary ovarian fibrosarcoma is a rare malignant tumor with few case reports. The current opinion in diagnosis preferring mitotic activity was questioned as there is a large amount of heterogeneity in prognosis between cases. We report a case of primary ovarian fibrosarcoma, and a literature review was performed according to the latest diagnostic trends. This is the first study to review the prognostic factors of primary ovarian fibrosarcoma according to the latest trend in diagnosis.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 50-year-old woman with primary ovarian fibrosarcoma is reported. The patient was admitted to the hospital due to increasing abdominal girth. Physical examination and CT scan showed a giant mass from the suprapubic area to the xiphoid region which filled her entire abdominopelvic cavity. Frozen sections were performed during an operation to resect, and the pathology report indicated a high degree of malignancy. Because of the degree of malignancy, a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and omentectomy were performed. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical staining confirmed the diagnosis of primary ovarian fibrosarcoma. During the operation, the tumor ruptured, which placed the patient in a FIGO stage IC1. After surgery, the patient received 6 courses of combination chemotherapy, consisting of etoposide, bleomycin, and cisplatin. The patient has been free from disease without evidence of recurrence at 5 months after the initial diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Herein we report a case of primary ovarian fibrosarcoma and reviewed all published cases in English. Following the latest trend of diagnosis, multiple prognostic factors were used to determine survival prognosis. These included nuclear atypia, FIGO stage, mitotic counts, treatment methods, and tumor size. Only nuclear atypia was found to be associated with patient prognosis (p < 0.05). FIGO stage (p = 0.383), mitotic count per 10 hpfs (p = 0.155), treatment methods (p = 0.185), and tumor size (p = 0.972) were not found to be associated with survival prognosis. Nuclear atypia was an important factor in prognosis of patients. Using surgery with adjuvant medical treatment was inconclusive regarding patient survival.

Primary Ovarian Fibrosarcoma-An Unusual Tumor in an Adolescent: Case Report and Review of the Pediatric Literature

BACKGROUND

Primary ovarian fibrosarcomas are rare and usually observed in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. To our knowledge, to date, there are only 3 reports of ovarian fibrosarcoma in childhood and adolescence in the English-language literature. In this report, we aimed to present to our knowledge, the first pediatric case with advanced stage primary ovarian fibrosarcoma and to compare with previous cases.

CASE

A 14-year-old teenage girl was admitted because of a giant abdominal mass. Imaging techniques revealed a giant heterogeneous and vascular ovarian mass. Salpingo-oophorectomy along with staging procedures were performed. Pathologic examination confirmed grade III ovarian fibrosarcoma with severe nuclear atypia and high mitotic count. Because of pulmonary metastasis, she received 4 courses of adjuvant combination chemotherapy (Ewing protocol). The patient withstood the treatment well and is disease-free at 2 years of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Fibrosarcoma of the ovary is an uncommon neoplasm with poor prognosis. To our knowledge, the presented patient is the first pediatric case with advanced staged primary ovarian fibrosarcoma to be treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy.

Rapid growth of mitotically active cellular fibroma of the ovary: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Mitotically active cellular fibroma (MACF) of the ovary, characterized by relatively high mitotic activity without severe atypia, represents a relatively new disease entity. MACF is categorized as a benign ovarian tumor. However, due to a limited number of case reports, its clinical and pathological features and optimum management remains largely undetermined. Herein, we report on a rare case of MACF that grew rapidly in size and was diagnosed on detailed pathological examination.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 44-year-old Japanese woman, who detected a myoma-like lesion 1-year earlier, was referred to our hospital when the follow-up examination demonstrated that the mass had increased in size. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a T1 isointense and T2 hyperintense tumor (11 cm in diameter) in the right pelvic cavity. Laparoscopy confirmed the presence of a right ovarian tumor and laparoscopic right adnexectomy was performed. The tumor cells consisted of dense cellular proliferations of spindle fibroblast-like cells without significant cytological atypia. The mitotic activity index was estimated at >15 mitotic figures per 10 high-power fields. Reticulin staining and FOXL2 mutation analysis excluded the possibility of an adult granulosa cell tumor, and the patient was diagnosed with a MACF of the ovary.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to report on a case of rapid growth of a MACF of the ovary during follow-up. When an increase in the size of a solid ovarian mass is detected, a MACF should be considered as a differential diagnosis.

Clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors of ovarian fibrosarcoma: the results of a multi-center retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Ovarian fibrosarcomas are very rare tumors, and therefore, few case studies have evaluated the prognostic factors of this disease. To our knowledge, this study represents the largest study to evaluate the clinical and pathologic factors associated with ovarian fibrosarcoma patients.

METHODS

Thirty-one cases of ovarian fibrosarcoma were retrospectively reviewed, which included medical records for eight patients, and 23 published case reports from 1995 through 2009. Patient treatment regimens included total hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy and an omentectomy (BAO) (n = 9), oophorectomy (OR) (n = 8), chemotherapy (CT) (n = 1), BAO followed by chemotherapy (BAO+CT) (n = 11), BAO followed by radiotherapy (BAO+RT) (n = 1), and oophorectomy followed by radiotherapy (OR + RT) (n = 1).

RESULTS

The patients of this cohort were staged according to the guidelines of the Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), with 15, 6, 9, and 1 stage I-IV cases identified, respectively. Mitotic count values were also evaluated from 10 high-power fields (HPFs), and 3 cases had an average mitotic count < 4, 18 cases were between 4 and 10, and 10 cases had an average mitotic count value ≥ 10. The Ki-67 (MIB-1) proliferation index values were grouped according to values that as follows: < 10% (n = 5), between 10% and 50% (n = 9), and ≥ 50% (n = 5). Positive expression of vimentin (100%, 22/22) and negative expression of CD117 (0%, 5/5) were also detected. Moreover, expression of smooth muscle actin (2/18), desmin (1/13), epithelial membrane antigen (0/11), S-100 (1/19), CD99 (0/6), CD34 (1/5), α-inhibin (7/15), estrogen receptor (1/6), and progesterone receptor (1/6) were reported for subsets of the cases examined. After a median follow-up period of 14 months (range, 2-120), the 2-year overall survival rates (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates for all patients were 55.9% and 45.4%, respectively. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis of survival showed that FIGO stage (P = 0.007) and treatment (P = 0.008) were predictive of poor prognosis. Furthermore, patients with stage I tumors that received BAO+CT were associated with a better prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Mitotic activity, and cells positive for Ki-67 were identified as important factors in the diagnosis of ovarian fibrosarcoma. Furthermore, FIGO stage and treatment modalities have the potential to be prognostic factors of survival, with BAO followed by adjuvant chemotherapy associated with an improved treatment outcome.

Recurrence of mitotically active cellular fibroma of the ovary

Background. 10% of ovarian fibromatous tumours typically exhibit increased cellularity, mitotic activity, and less frequently nuclear atypia. Therefore, the classification within the group of fibromatous tumours may represent some difficulties, thus, one or several of these features should appear. Case. We introduce the clinical and pathologic features based on one case of recurrence of a mitotically active cellular ovarian fibroma (MACF) in the pararectal fossa. This recurrence took place six years after primary surgery. Macroscopically, the tumour was firm, fibrous, well delimited, yellow-white without gross necrosis. On microscopic examination, it was composed of a densely cellular proliferation of fibrolastic-like cells with bland nuclear features and arranged in a fascicular pattern. There was no sign of significant atypia or necrosis. Conclusion. Recently, this case is the first report of a recurrence of MACF, following primary surgery with no tumoral rupture or surgical difficulty. The clinical outcome of ovarian cellular fibromas (CFs) and MACFs is typically uneventful. This case, however, strongly suggests maintaining a long-term clinical follow-up even though the principal tumour was surgically treated without tumour rupture or in the absence of adherence or any surgical difficulty.

Sonographic features of primary ovarian fibrosarcoma: a report of two cases

Two cases of primary cellular fibroblastic tumor of the ovary are described, which presented a challenging clinical and histopathological differential diagnosis of primary ovarian fibrosarcoma and mitotically active cellular fibroma. On sonographic evaluation they both appeared as solid lesions with irregular margins, and on histological analysis both showed a count of 5-7 mitotic figures per 10 high-power fields. Histopathological examination of the first case was characterized by the presence of hemorrhage, necrosis and severe nuclear atypia, with a metastatic peritoneal lesion, and the eventual diagnosis was primary ovarian fibrosarcoma. The second case, however, was diagnosed as a 'mitotically active cellular fibroma' owing to the lack of substantial severe cellular atypia, hemorrhage or necrosis. We speculate that ovarian fibrosarcoma at the preoperative examination might be considered in the differential diagnosis whenever a unilateral, heterogeneous, largely round solid ovarian lesion is detected.

Giant malignant ovarian fibrothecoma involved with retroperitoneal structures mimicking a retroperitoneal sarcoma

INTRODUCTION

Ovary is located inside peritoneal cavity. However, a huge malignant ovarian tumor may get involved with retroperitoneal structures.

CASE REPORT

We reported a case of a 70-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of increased abdominal distention and was subsequently found to have a giant abdominal mass. A huge low signal intensity mass with the involvement of retroperitoneal structures was showed on MRI. At operation, we found that the tumor pushed mesentery and small bowel upwards with the encasement of 10 cm jejunum and was fixed posteriorly to vena cava, aorta, right iliac vessels, and right ureter. It was dissected from the retroperitoneal structures and resected en bloc with the involved jejunum.

CONCLUSION

Although ovary is located inside peritoneal cavity, a huge malignant ovarian tumor may get involved with retroperitoneal structures. So, great care should be taken not to injury the retroperitoneal structures as vena cava, mesenteric vessels, iliac vessels, and ureters.

Primary ovarian fibrosarcoma with long-term survival: a report of two cases

We report on two cases of primary ovarian fibrosarcoma detected in two women aged 44 and 34 years old. In the first case, an 18 x 17 x 10 cm multilobular tumor was detected in the left ovary. In the second case, a 13 x 9 x 3 cm and a 7 x 6 x 2 cm tumor were found in the left and right ovaries, respectively. In addition, a large quantity of ascitic fluid was detected. In both cases, a total hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy and an omentectomy were performed. No evidence of lymph-node enlargement was detected in either case. Microscopic findings demonstrated densely, cellular spindle-shaped tumor cells with increased mitotic activity (17 and 8/10 high-power fields, respectively). Immunohistochemical analyses showed that tumor cells were positive for vimentin and negative for smooth muscle actin, S-100, and estrogen receptor. Progesterone receptor was positive only in the second case. After surgery, both patients received several courses of combination chemotherapy. Neither patient demonstrated any evidence of disease recurrence during follow-up for 10 years and 5 years, respectively.

Cellular Fibromas of the Ovary: A Study of 75 Cases Including 40 Mitotically Active Tumors Emphasizing Their Distinction From Fibrosarcoma

Cellular fibroblastic tumors of the ovary are currently classified as either cellular fibroma (CF) or fibrosarcoma. The former are characterized by bland nuclei, 3 or fewer mitotic figures per 10 high-power fields (MFs/10 HPFs), and a low malignant potential, whereas fibrosarcomas usually have severe nuclear atypia, > or = 4 MFs/10 HPFs, and an aggressive clinical course. The prognosis of cellular fibromatous tumors with > or = 4 MFs/10 HPFs and low-grade cytology is not established and it is the purpose of this study to investigate that aspect. It has been our anecdotal experience that otherwise typical CFs with > or = 4 MFs/10 HPFs usually have a benign clinical course, suggesting that such tumors should be regarded as "mitotically active cellular fibroma" (MACF) rather than fibrosarcoma. Seventy-five cellular fibromatous neoplasms were analyzed to determine their clinicopathologic features and the appropriateness of "MACF" as a designation for otherwise typical CFs with > or = 4 MFs/10 HPFs. The mean age of patients with CF (n = 35, 0 to 3 MFs/10 HPFs) and MACF (n = 40, > or = 4 MFs/10 HPFs) was 51 and 41 years, respectively. Patients most commonly presented with symptoms related to a pelvic mass. All tumors were unilateral. The mean tumor size of CFs was 8.0 cm and 9.4 cm for MACFs. The majority of the tumors were solid; approximately one-third of them had a cystic component. Ovarian surface adhesions, involvement of the ovarian surface, or both, was present in 6% of CFs and 10% of MACFs. Eleven percent of CFs and 13% of MACFs were associated with extraovarian involvement. All tumors consisted of cellular, intersecting bundles of spindle cells with bland nuclear features. The mean highest mitotic count for MACFs was 6.7 MFs/10 HPFs (range 4 to 19 MFs/10 HPFs). Follow-up of 3 months to 12 years (mean 4.75 y) was available in 18 of the 40 patients with MACFs and was uneventful in all cases. We conclude that cellular fibromatous neoplasms with bland cytology and elevated mitotic counts are associated with favorable patient outcome and should be diagnosed as MACF rather than fibrosarcoma, which usually have moderate to severe atypia and elevated mitotic rates. As prior observations have shown that even typical CFs can occasionally recur locally, particularly if they are associated with rupture or adherence, long-term follow-up for patients with CFs and MACFs is appropriate.