Larotrectinib as an Effective Therapy in Congenital Infantile Fibrosarcoma: Report of Two Cases.

Congenital infantile fibrosarcoma (CIF) is a rare tumor in children that occurs in the first years of life. It usually arises in the extremities but some cases affect the trunk, neck, abdomen, or retroperitoneum. Surgical resection has been traditionally the treatment of choice but the development of genomic analysis and targeted therapies has shed light on new therapeutic options. We present two patients with a congenital mass, one in the abdominal cavity (1-month-old) and the second in the left lower extremity respectively (2-months-old). In both cases, the clinical and radiological findings showed heterogeneous masses with rapidly progressive growth. MRI in the first patient exhibited an abdominal mass surrounding the aorta and inferior vena cava associated with a giant infrarenal aortic aneurysm. CT-guided biopsy was performed with pathological findings of fibrosarcoma and ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion. The second patient underwent open biopsy also with histopathological diagnosis of fibrosarcoma and the same mutation in the TRK gene ( NTRK3 ). Targeted therapy with a specific TRK inhibitor, larotrectinib, was started in both patients. Periodical controls were made by ultrasound or MRI, and after a few weeks of treatment, both children showed significant decrease in the mass. By the second and third months after starting the treatment, both tumors disappeared. The first patient is now 15-months-old and the second one is 8-months-old. Larotrectinib is a novel targeted therapy with excellent results in CIF but long-term outcomes are limited to establish it as a gold standard treatment.

Treatment of infantile fibrosarcoma associated to an abdominal aortic aneurysm with larotrectinib: a case report.

Infantile fibrosarcoma (IFS) is a rare pediatric tumor which often presents the ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion. NTRK3 encodes the neurotrophin-3 growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, a druggable therapeutic target. Selective tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) inhibitors, such as larotrectinib, have shown efficacy and safety in the treatment of IFS. We report a case of an abdominal IFS diagnosed in a newborn associated with an aortic aneurysm that was successfully treated with larotrectinib without relevant adverse effects.

Effectiveness and safety of 1470-nm diode laser fulguration in the management of diffuse venous malformations.

BACKGROUND: Venous malformations (VMs) are the most frequent congenital vascular malformations. Pain and deformity are the main symptoms and usually progressive in untreated patients. Current therapeutic options are surgery (frequently partial resections with an uncomfortable postoperative period), sclerotherapy (often limited because of the need for high doses and the potential subsequent toxicity), and percutaneous intralesional laser treatment. The main objective of our study was to analyze efficiency and safety of 1470-nm diode laser treatment in the management of diffuse VMs. METHODS: We included patients treated between 2012 and 2018 whose quality of life was severely impaired. Data regarding laser settings, previous and subsequent D-dimer and fibrinogen blood levels, preprocedural and postprocedural assessment of pain by means of a visual analog scale, and reported complications were collected. RESULTS: Twenty-six procedures were performed in 17 patients (76% women); 59% were sporadic VMs, 70% had previously undergone other treatments, and 53% needed continuous analgesic treatment. The median pain reduction after the intervention, measured on the visual analog scale, was 5 points (P < .001). A significant decrease in the postoperative D-dimer values (P = .003) was observed in all patients. There were five postoperative complications in four patients, and none was life-threatening. CONCLUSIONS: The diode laser appears to be effective for treatment of diffuse VMs. It allows a reduction of the volume and symptoms of the malformation and is well tolerated by the patients. There is no currently described limitation in terms of dosage or number of procedures, making this a good alternative therapeutic option for these malformations.

Nodular Proliferation in Parkes Weber Syndrome.

Parkes Weber syndrome (PWS) is characterized by the association of high flow vascular malformation and overgrowth of a part of the body, usually a limb. In a previous review of 10 patients with PWS from our hospital we described a case of congenital short femur and four cases of severe lymphedema. We present a case of PWS associated with a nodular proliferative form not previously described. A 38 year old male with diagnosis of PWS with involvement of the right lower limb (RLL) was derived to our clinic. He complained about the appearance of painful nodular tumors in his RLL and some episodes of bleeding through the tumors. The physical examination revealed increased size of the RLL compared to left lower limb. Two nodular tumors were evident in his RLL. One located proximal in the leg and another one in ankle. The computed tomographic angiography revealed multiple arterio-venous shunts in the RLL. The tumors were not arterio-venous shunts, neither aneurysms. We decided to make surgical resection of the tumors. In the pathology analysis the tumors were positive for CD31, CD34 and negative for D240 markers. Eight months after surgery the patient had no recurrence of the tumors, and he is asymptomatic.The presence of nodular tumors in PWS has not been previously described. This makes us to think that these could be hamartomatous lesions similar to those of the CLOVES syndrome or a PIK3CA mutation.

Cervical cystic lymphangioma in a patient with blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome: clinical case report and review of the literature.

We present the case of a 9-year-old boy diagnosed with blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome, who showed a very large left cervical cystic lymphangioma. He was previously subjected to various treatments for lesions in the intestinal tract including blood transfusions for anemia, sclerosis, enterotomies or resections. The tumor was resected without any complications and the anatomopathologic report confirmed this diagnosis. The blue cavernous hemangioma syndrome (or blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome) is a rare disease characterized by cavernous angiomas involving the skin and gastrointestinal tract. Several cases of cystic lymphangiomas associated with this syndrome have been published recently and lymphomatous differentiation has been identified in the cells of cutaneous lesions. Given their common embryological origin, we underscore the importance of bearing in mind that it is possible for different types of vascular malformations to coexist in the same patient.