2011 Volume 25 Issue 6 Pages 672-677
A 33-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of pain in her left shoulder. Radiological examinations revealed a well-circumscribed 45×25-mm mass in the left thoracic inlet, suggesting a benign tumor. The tumor was resected using a thoracoscopic procedure assisted by mini-thoracotomy, and diagnosed as a desmoid tumor, showing a positive surgical margin on histological examination. Seventeen months later, she underwent radiotherapy of 60 Gy for a local recurrent tumor involving pain in the left arm. After radiotherapy, the tumor slightly regressed and the arm pain disappeared. She has remained progression-free for 40 months since radiotherapy. Desmoid tumors are histologically benign tumors without any metastatic potential, but they are very locally aggressive and tend to recur even after complete resection. Radiotherapy is an effective alternative if treatment is required for an unresectable lesion or if surgery may result in major functional defects, and it achieves a high local control rate even in a post-recurrent setting.
