Our Surgical Experience in Desmoid Tumors

Turan Acar, Nihan Acar, Haldun Kar, Cengiz Tavusbay, Erdinç Kamer, Murat Kemal Atahan, Mehmet Hacıyanlı

Abstract

Background
Desmoid tumour (DT) is a locally aggressive soft tissue tumour which is histologically characterized by fibroblastic proliferation in collagen matrix. They may originate from almost any location, mainly from limbs, abdominal wall and abdominal cavity, and occur more frequently in women of childbearing age.

Aims
Radical resection is generally considered as the most appropriate treatment for patients with desmoid tumours. Alternative methods of treatment are available for patients with unresectable.

Methods
Nine patients who had DT pathology between January 2008 and January 2013 in İzmir Katip Çelebi University Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, General Surgery Clinic were included in the study.

Results
The mean age of the nine patients (three males and six females) was 40.1. Two patients (one male and one female) had been diagnosed with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), accompanied by Gardner’s syndrome (GS). Among the desmoid tumours, five (55.6 per cent) were intra-abdominally located, two (22.2 per cent) were located in the anterior abdominal wall, one (11.1 per cent) in limbs, and one (11.1 per cent) in breast.

Conclusion
Surgical resection in which a sufficient amount of surrounding healthy tissue is removed together with the tumour provides an effective treatment. We believe that, for those tumours which cannot be resected or incompletely resected, addition of Tamoxifen to the therapy will provide favourable results for regression.
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