Abstract
Introduction: Desmoid tumors are benign tumors, yet can lead to significant morbidity due to aggressive local expansions. Treatment starts with a wait-and-see policy, however, more aggressive treatments like broad margin resection surgery might be necessary in case of tumor progression.
Patients and methods: We report the case of a 26-year-old female with a symptomatic desmoid tumor in the left rectus muscle. The initial wait-and-see policy led to an increase in tumor size and progression of symptoms. Computed tomography (CT) angiography revealed a dominant arterial blood supply via a branch of the inferior epigastric artery. We then performed a super selective embolization of the dominant arterial blood supply, to avoid the need for broad margin resection.
Results: At three months follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no residual tumor. At nine months follow-up, MRI scan reconfirmed the successful outcome.
Conclusions: Embolization of a primary supplying vessel of a desmoid tumor is a viable treatment option. However, scientific evidence remains limited and further research is mandatory for inclusion in evidence based treatment algorithms.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.