Rare Tumors (Apr 2016)

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of pediatric patients with desmoplastic small round cell tumor

  • Melissa A. Bent,
  • Benjamin E. Padilla,
  • Robert E. Goldsby,
  • Steven G. DuBois

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4081/rt.2016.6145
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1

Abstract

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Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare malignancy that typically affects pediatric and young adult patients. There are limited data on the clinical features of pediatric DSRCT. We selected patients aged 0-21 years reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program from 1991-2011. We estimated overall survival using Kaplan-Meier approaches and compared outcomes using the log rank test. The median age of the 95 pediatric patients was 15.3 years (range: 0-21). The majority of tumors originated in the abdomen and pelvis (84.4%) and the majority of patients had distant metastasis (72.6%). A minority of patients received radiation (34%). Overall survival at 5 years was poor (18.1%; 95% confidence interval 10.1-27.9%). Radiation therapy was associated with superior survival. Pediatric patients with DSRCT have significant disease burden. Outcomes for children are poor, though patients selected for radiation appear to have improved survival.

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