Desmoplastic small round cell tumour in a 74 year old man: an uncommon cause of ascites (case report)

Andrew J Heikkila,Ally Ph Prebtani

doi:10.1186/1746-1596-6-55

Abstract

A rare case is provided of a 74 year old man who presented with ascites of unknown etiology. CT scan of the abdomen revealed extensive omental caking, and omental biopsy cytogenetics showed findings in keeping with a diagnosis of desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT). This case is unique in that it involves a significantly older patient, negative WT1 immunohistochemical staining, and negative cytology. Despite repeated paracenteses and fluid management, the patient died in hospital secondary to renal complications.

Highlights

desmoplastic small round cell tumour (DSRCT) is an exceedingly rare malignancy, first described by Gerald and Rosai in 1989
We present a recent case of DSRCT in a 74 year old man who presented with ascites
In Cao et al report of 18 DSRCT cases, five of the patients presented with ascites [3]

Summary

Introduction

DSRCT is an exceedingly rare malignancy, first described by Gerald and Rosai in 1989. We present a recent case of DSRCT in a 74 year old man who presented with ascites. * Correspondence: andrew.heikkila@medportal.ca 1McMaster University, Department of Anesthesia, Health Sciences Centre 2U1, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Full list of author information is available at the end of the article drinker. The serum and fluid albumin values were 33 g/L and 25 g/L, Figure 3 Microphotograph representative of the core biopsy material demonstrating a diffuse population of small undifferentiated malignant cells.

Results

Conclusion