Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors
Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor is a rare, aggressive cancer that grows in the abdomen
and pelvic area.
What are Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors?
Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor is a rare, aggressive cancer that grows in the abdomen and pelvic area. It has the propensity to spread to the peritoneal cavity and form multiple masses in it. The tumor affects young men and adolescents. In the case of women, this tumor is rarely detected and it may be confused with ovarian cancer in some cases.
Common Symptoms:
1) Abdominal pain
2) Abdominal lumps
3) Symptoms of intestinal obstruction
The tumor may be aggressive and widespread but cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC has shown to almost double the survival in such patients. CRS and HIPEC for desmoplastic small round cell tumors may be combined with systemic systemic chemotherapy before or after the surgery.
Risk factors for Uterine cancer
Whereas there are some known risk factors for endometrial cancer, there are no knonw risk factors for the other types of uterine cancer. The risk factors for endometrial cancer are
Age: Endometrial cancer is primarily a disease of postmenopausal women, Geography. The incidence of endometrial cancer is higher in western nations and very low in eastern countries.
Diet: The high rate of occurrence of this disease in western societies and the very low rate in eastern countries suggest a possible etiologic role for nutrition, especially the high content of animal fat in western diets. The majority of women who develop endometrial cancer tend to be obese.
Parity: Nulliparous women (those who haven’t given birth yet) are at 2 times greater risk of developing endometrial cancer.
Other risk factors: Other known risk factors for endometrial cancer include diabetes mellitus, hypertension, endometrial hyperplasia, a family history of endometrial cancer, and use of exogenous hormones.
The Presentation
Bleeding is an early sign of this cancer. And in women post menopause, bleeding usually raises a suspicion, leading to early diagnosis. However, certain types such as serous and clear cell carcinomas and carcinomas may be advanced at the time of diagnosis.
The Treatment
In the early stages, the treatment is surgery (removal of the uterus and lymph glands) followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. At times there is a recurrence in the peritoneum or there is peritoneal spread at the time of diagnosis. Some of these patients are candidates for cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. Endometrial cancer is an uncommon source of peritoneal cancer where as the tumors arising from the wall or the sarcomas and the serous carcinomas have a greater chance of spreading to the peritoneum.
The outcomes with Cytoreductive Surgery and HIPEC depend on the type of uterine cancer, its extent and other patient related factors. When complete removal of the tumor is possible, the outcome is most favourable.
