What are Desmoplastic Tumors?

Desmoplastic tumors, or desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT), are a rare type of cancer. This kind of malignant tumor is a soft tissue sarcoma that typically develops small, round-shaped cancer cells. In most cases, desmoplastic tumors grow in the abdomen and are surrounded by cells that resemble scar tissue. The cells in the lining of the abdomen and abdominal lymph nodes are common areas of tumor development.

Males usually have a higher risk of contracting desmoplastic small round cell tumors than females. This type of tumor can be misdiagnosed as ovarian cancer in some rare cases involving female patients. Mesothelioma, a disease that may be described as desmoplastic, is not typically associated with cases of desmoplastic tumors.

Common symptoms of a desmoplastic small round cell tumor include abdominal masses and pain in the abdomen. Obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract can occur with this type of soft tissue sarcoma. Vomiting, weight loss and a reduced appetite have been reported by some desmoplastic tumor patients. This type of malignant tumor may metastasize or spread to other parts of the body, especially to the liver, lungs or bones in some patients. Tumors typically spread less frequently to the brain, central nervous system or spleen.

Physicians often order several medical tests, perform a thorough physical examination and gather detailed information about a patient’s medical history prior to diagnosing the patient with a desmoplastic tumor. A doctor may use a fine needle aspiration to remove a sample of tumor cells from a patient and send the tissue sample to a laboratory, where it can be tested for the presence of cancer cells. Larger biopsy samples can be acquired for testing during a surgical biopsy procedure and some small tumors may be completely removed as part of a biopsy procedure. Physicians often obtain medical images of a suspected tumor with imaging tests such as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, computerized tomography (CT) scan or ultrasound test.

Cancer specialists generally use one or more methods of treatment for patients with desmoplastic tumors. Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that usually kills cancer tumor cells with a combination of special anti-cancer drugs. A tumor may be surgically removed if a procedure is safe for an individual patient and when there is a reasonable chance that the tumor removal will be successful. Some doctors use radiation therapy to kill cancer cells with high and targeted doses of radiation. The prognosis for patients with desmoplastic tumors is more likely to be successful in cases where no tumor cells remain after treatment.