Peripheral neuroectodermal tumor of the chest (Askin tumor) as secondary neoplasm after Hodgkin's disease: a case report

Ann Hematol. 1994 Jun;68(6):311-3. doi: 10.1007/BF01695039.

Abstract

The authors present the case of a 20-year-old woman who developed a peripheral neuroectodermal neoplasm of the thoracopulmonary region (Askin tumor) 7 years after achieving complete remission of stage-IV Hodgkin's disease. The previous treatment had consisted of eight courses of alternating MOPP/ABVD combined with involved-field 20-Gy radiotherapy. The second neoplasm appeared in a nonirradiated area of the chest wall, with erosion of the ribs as shown by sonography and computed tomography. The histological pattern was in accordance with a generic diagnosis of a malignant small cell tumor; the immunostaining positivity of the neoplastic cells for the neuron-specific enolase allowed us to make the diagnosis of a tumor with a neuroectodermal origin. Partial resection of the neoplasm and four courses of chemotherapy including adriamycin, cisplatin, and ifosfamide induced a complete remission, confirmed by surgical restaging. She is alive and well 10 months after the completion of therapy. The clinical, radiological, and microscopic features of this tumor occurring as a secondary neoplasm after Hodgkin's disease are described.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Hodgkin Disease / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Neoplasms, Second Primary*
  • Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive, Peripheral / pathology*
  • Thoracic Neoplasms / pathology*