Morbihan syndrome is a rare entity characterized by persistent erythema and solid edema of upper two-thirds of the face. Although its etiology is poorly understood, it is known to have a wide differential diagnosis and is frequently under-recognized.1–3 We report two such cases of Morbihan syndrome in patients that responded well to treatment with a combination of 2.5% hydrocortisone cream, brimonidine 0.33% topical gel, metronidazole gel and 100 mg doxycycline twice daily. This report emphasizes the necessity of biopsy for clinical correlation in cases of chronic facial edema. It also serves to highlight a potential association of Morbihan syndrome to diabetes mellitus through recently discovered pathophysiology of diabetes on the lymphatic system. It underscores the effectiveness of our therapeutic regimen in the context of other treatment regimen effectiveness. Finally, it highlights novel advances into the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Patient: Male, 33-year-old
Final Diagnosis: CIC-DUX mutation sarcoma
Symptoms: Mass in abdomen
Medication:—
Clinical Procedure: —
Specialty: Oncology • Pathology
Objective:
Rare disease
Background:
Undifferentiated small blue round cell sarcomas with CIC-DUX4 translocation differ morphologically and in clinical outcomes from other types of sarcoma. Although classified by the World Health Organization as undifferentiated sarcomas, it is unclear whether these tumors are variants of Ewing’s sarcoma or a distinct entity. This report describes a round cell sarcoma with CIC-DUX4 translocation that presented clinically as a phlegmon.
Case Report:
A 31-year-old African American man presented with a mass in the right upper abdominal quadrant. Examination at a local hospital suggested an intra-abdominal abscess, and incision and drainage were performed. One week later, he returned with increased pain and bloody drainage from the incision site. Computed tomography showed a complex solid-cystic area measuring 7.8 cm suggesting a large phlegmon/abscess or neoplasm. Histologically, the sarcomatous malignancy was cellular, multinodular, and necrotic, with cells having round-ovoid to spindled nuclei and variable amounts of pale cytoplasm. Immunohistochemically, the mass was focally positive for CD99, but much less positive than an Ewing sarcoma. The mass also showed diffuse nuclear positivity for WT-1 and ETV4, but was negative for desmin. Fluorescence
in-situ
hybridization showed positivity for CIC-DUX4 gene fusion, resulting in a final diagnosis of round cell sarcoma with CIC-DUX4 translocation. The patient has completed 14 cycles of chemotherapy with no evidence of metastasis or local recurrence.
Conclusions:
A round cell sarcoma with CIC-DUX4 translocation can present clinically as a phlegmon with pleomorphic morphology. Early tumor identification by molecular analysis and early initiation of treatment can improve patient prognosis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.