Synovial sarcoma of the liver:a case report and literature review / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To report a case of synovial sarcoma of the liver and review the literature for improving the understanding of the disease.Methods The clinical data of a patient with liver synovial sarcoma admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University were analyzed retrospectively.The imaging,pathological features,treatment and prognosis of this disease were summarized by searching the database(CNKI,Wanfang Data,PubMed,untill July 2022)and the literature results analyzed comprehensively.Results The patient was a 71-year-old female who was admitted to the hospital due to abdominal pain.Computed tomography(CT)scan showed a mass with mixed density in the right lobe and caudate lobe of the liver.The large cross section size was about 115 mm×87 mm and the mass showed continuous heterogeneous enhancement,being considered as malignant hepatic tumors with multiple metastasis of the liver and lung.Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy was performed,and microscopy showed the tumor cells were obvious atypical,and some were spindle-shaped.Immunohistochemistry showed that the patient was positive for vimentin(VIM),epithelial membrane antigen(EMA),methylation of histone at lysine 27(H3K27Me3),and negative for pan cytokeratin(CK-pan)and S-100,and pathological diagnosis of synovial sarcoma was made.The patient did not undergo subsequent treatment and was lost to follow-up after discharge.A total of 12 cases of hepatic synovial sarcoma were reported after searching the database.The clinical manifestations were abdominal pain or distention.The lesions were mostly located in the right lobe of the liver,usually large,heterogeneous density,and heterogeneous enhancement on enhanced CT or magnetic resonance imaging(MRI).Spindle-shaped cells were found at histopathologic examination.Immunohistochemistry showed the patient was positive for VIM,EMA,H3K27Me,B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2(BCL-2)and transducer-like enhancer of split 1(TLE1).SS18-SSX fusion gene or SS18 gene isolation were detected.Eleven patients received surgical treatment,5 received adjuvant chemotherapy,and 4 had recurrence or metastasis during the follow-up period.Conclusions Synovial sarcoma of the liver is a rare malignant tumor of the liver.The clinical and imaging features are not specific.The diagnosis depends on pathology.At present,the main treatment is surgery,and comprehensive treatment such as adjuvant chemotherapy can be performed.The prognosis of the patient is poor.