A 38-year-old man was diagnosed with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour of the maxilla. He was treated with total maxillectomy. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen revealed a close resection margin. The tumour was of high grade with an MIB-1 labelling index of almost 60%. At six weeks following the surgery, he developed local tumour relapse. The patient succumbed to the disease at five months from the time of diagnosis. The present report underlines the locally aggressive nature of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour of the maxilla which necessitates an early therapeutic intervention. A complete resection with clear margins is the most important prognostic factor for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour in the head and neck region. Adjuvant radiotherapy may be considered to improve the local control. Future research may demarcate the role of targeted therapy for patients with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour. 1. Introduction Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (MPNSTs) encompass a cluster of tumours which arise from the peripheral nerves or display differentiation along various elements of the nerve sheath, namely, Schwann cells, perineural fibroblasts, or fibroblasts [1]. An origin of these tumours in the head and neck region is uncommon occurring in approximately 10% of all cases [2, 3]. Herein, a case of maxillary MPNST is discussed along with the literature review of head and neck MPNSTs. 2. Case Report A 38-year-old man presented with an 8-month history of pain in the left cheek, bleeding from the left nostril, and nasal blockage. He had noticed a swelling over the left cheek and dorsum of the nose which progressed over a period of 6 months. He had also noticed an ulcer on the left upper alveolus which progressed over a period of 2 months. He had a 10-year history of tobacco consumption. A contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) of the paranasal sinuses (PNS) was performed which revealed a mass lesion in the left maxillary sinus. He had undergone a surgery for the removal of mass in the left maxillary antrum and nasal cavity by Caldwell Luc approach. Histopathological examination of the resected mass was reported as angiofibroma. After remaining asymptomatic for 5 months, the patient presented with the similar complaints as before for duration of one month. The patient was now evaluated in our multidisciplinary clinic by a team of head and neck surgeon, radiation oncologist, and a medical oncologist. Physical examination revealed swelling of ?cm size over the left cheek involving the nasolabial
References
[1]
B. S. Ducatman, B. W. Scheithauer, D. G. Piepgras, H. M. Reiman, and D. M. Ilstrup, “Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. A Clinicopathologic Study of 120 Cases,” Cancer, vol. 57, no. 10, pp. 2006–2021, 1986.
[2]
B. C. Ghosh, L. Ghosh, A. G. Huvos, and J. G. Fortner, “Malignant schwannoma. A Clinicopathologic Study,” Cancer, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 184–190, 1973.
[3]
W. O. Russell, J. Cohen, F. Enzinger, et al., “A clinical and pathological staging system for soft tissue sarcomas,” Cancer, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 1562–1570, 1977.
[4]
U. Yamaguchi, T. Hasegawa, T. Hirose et al., “Low grade malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour: varied cytological and histological patterns,” Journal of Clinical Pathology, vol. 56, no. 11, pp. 826–830, 2003.
[5]
H. Zhou, C. M. Coffin, S. L. Perkins, S. R. Tripp, M. Liew, and D. H. Viskochil, “Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor: a comparison of grade, immunophenotype, and cell cycle/growth activation marker expression in sporadic and neurofibromatosis 1-related lesions,” The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, vol. 27, no. 10, pp. 1337–1345, 2003.
[6]
A. Minovi, O. Basten, B. Hunter, W. Draf, and U. Bockmühl, “Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors of the head and neck: management of 10 cases and literature review,” Head and Neck, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 439–445, 2007.
[7]
J. W. Bailet, E. Abemayor, J. C. Andrews, J. P. Rowland, Y. S. Fu, and D. E. Dawson, “Malignant nerve sheath tumors of the head and neck: a combined experience from two university hospitals,” Laryngoscope, vol. 101, no. 10, pp. 1044–1049, 1991.
[8]
M. Carli, A. Ferrari, A. Mattke et al., “Pediatric malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor: the Italian and German soft tissue sarcoma cooperative group,” Journal of Clinical Oncology, vol. 23, no. 33, pp. 8422–8430, 2005.
[9]
H. Goepfert, R. D. Lindberg, J. G. Sinkovics, and A. G. Ayala, “Soft tissue sarcoma of the head and neck after puberty,” Archives of Otolaryngology, vol. 103, no. 6, pp. 365–368, 1977.
[10]
J. A. Greager, K. W. Reichard, J. P. Campana, and T. K. DasGupta, “Malignant schwannoma of the head and neck,” The American Journal of Surgery, vol. 163, no. 4, pp. 440–442, 1992.
[11]
J. V. Bagan, J. M. Sanchis, Y. Jimenez, J. Murillo, R. Poveda, and J. M. Diaz, “Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of the maxila,” Oral Oncology Extra, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 70–73, 2005.
[12]
G. K. Maheshwari, H. A. Baboo, U. Gopal, D. B. Balar, and N. M. Shah, “Malignant Schwannoma of the sinonasal tract,” Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head and; Neck Surgery, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 47–50, 1999.
[13]
M. Kar, S. V. S. Deo, N. K. Shukla et al., “Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST)—clinicopathological study and treatment outcome of twenty-four cases,” World Journal of Surgical Oncology, vol. 4, article 55, 2006.
[14]
M. Kolberg, M. H?land, T. H. ?gesen, et al., “Survival meta-analyses for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor patients with and without neurofibromatosis type 1,” Neuro-Oncology, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 135–147, 2013.
[15]
M. P. Colreavy, P. D. Lacy, J. Hughes et al., “Head and neck schwannomas—a 10 year review,” The Journal of Laryngology & Otology, vol. 114, no. 2, pp. 119–124, 2000.
[16]
J. R. Kroep, M. Ouali, H. Gelderblom et al., “First-line chemotherapy for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) versus other histological soft tissue sarcoma subtypes and as a prognostic factor for MPNST: an EORTC soft tissue and bone sarcoma group study,” Annals of Oncology, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 207–214, 2011.
[17]
C. Y. Zou, K. D. Smith, Q.-S. Zhu et al., “Dual targeting of AKT and mammalian target of rapamycin: a potential therapeutic approach for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor,” Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, vol. 8, no. 5, pp. 1157–1168, 2009.
[18]
M. Endo, H. Yamamoto, N. Setsu, et al., “Prognostic significance of AKT/mTOR and MAPK pathways and antitumor effect of mTOR inhibitor in NF1-related and sporadic malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors,” Clinical Cancer Research, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 450–461, 2013.