The third reported case of fatal malignant cystosarcoma phyllodes in an adolescent female is described. The patterns of local recurrence and distant spread in this case, including the response to treatment, were similar to those reported in the first reported case in this age group. A review of the treatment recommendations for cystosarcoma phyllodes revealed that the surgical procedure of choice for the malignant variant has remained controversial, and the conclusions regarding the ineffectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy have been based on insufficient data handed down through the years. Our observations in this case and the information we have obtained from the literature have prompted us to recommend a multidisciplinary approach for malignant cystosarcoma phyllodes, particularly in young women, and we are calling for a multi-institutional study group to further investigate this disease.
We wished to identify the efficacy of enucleation (excavation) in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Surgical specimens from 26 patients with polar or peripheral lesions, 50 per cent of which were found incidentally by computerized tomography scan, were considered amenable to this form of treatment and were studied by ex situ enucleation after standard radical nephrectomy. Eleven patients were determined to have unsuccessful enucleation after histopathological study demonstrated capsular invasion, vascular invasion, residual tumor in the bed or multicentric tumors. Preoperative computerized tomography assessment did not accurately predict success of enucleation. The presence of a fibrous pseudocapsule of compressed renal parenchyma, which might facilitate a dissection plane and successful enucleation, did not correlate with tumor size. Microscopic examination of pseudocapsular integrity frequently revealed areas of thinning, disruption and penetration by neoplasm. When parenchymal preservation is necessary in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma, as wide a margin of adjacent renal parenchyma as possible should be excised with the tumor. In this study enucleation alone was associated with a significant risk of incomplete excision and, therefore, potential for treatment failure. We do not recommend enucleation in the presence of a normal contralateral kidney.
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