A patient with a desmoid tumor in the 1st intercostal space who received adjuvant radiotherapy

Abstract

A 67-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of pain in his right shoulder and chest. Radiological findings showed a well-circumscribed tumor located in the right first intercostal space. The tumor was extirpated via video-assisted thoracic surgery. The pathological diagnosis was a desmoid tumor. Although all symptoms disappeared after the surgery, the surgical margin was considered to be positive. To prevent local recurrence of the tumor, adjuvant radiotherapy of 60 Gy was carried out. Although desmoid tumors are histopathologically benign tumors, they can aggressively invade the surrounding tissue, and so they tend to recur. Since desmoid tumors are located in higher intercostal spaces, the treatment strategy should carefully consider the important surrounding organs and postoperative quality of life.