Peripheral primitive neuroendocrine tumor of the chest wall—A case report with pathological correlation

Abstract

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor is a high-grade malignant tumor originating from the neural crest and neuroectoderm, which can be subdivided into central and peripheral categories. Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor is thought to be identical to Ewing's sarcoma, and falls under a broader category of Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors. Very rarely, it may present without osseous involvement, known as extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma. Here we present a case of a 38-year-old woman, who presented with several-month history of a slow-growing chest wall mass, initially thought to be a breast mass. The mass was diagnosed as extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma upon tissue biopsy. The patient was started on a dose-intensified neoadjuvant therapy, based on protocol from pediatric population given rarity of this tumor in the adult population. While the patient was initially planned for surgical resection, the tumor showed excellent response to chemotherapy on follow-up imaging, and radiation therapy was elected in lieu of resection.