CASE REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Oncology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1638152
Metastatic Pediatric Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma: A Rare Case Report Highlighting Multidisciplinary Treatment, Molecular Diagnostics, and Novel Therapeutic Approaches
Provisionally accepted- Adana City Training and Research Hospital, Ministry of Health (Turkey), Adana, Türkiye
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Background: Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is an extremely rare soft tissue sarcoma, accounting for less than 1% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Approximately 5-10% of ASPS cases occur in children and adolescents. Despite its indolent local course, its high metastatic potential necessitates comprehensive, multidisciplinary management.We present a pediatric patient diagnosed with metastatic ASPS originating from the left thigh. Initial management included wide local excision and adjuvant radiotherapy.Immunohistochemistry demonstrated strong nuclear TFE3 positivity, supporting the diagnosis.Although FISH analysis for ASPSCR1-TFE3 fusion was planned, technical limitations prevented archival imaging. Despite initial local control, the patient developed pulmonary, hepatic, brain, and intraabdominal metastases during follow-up. Serial imaging, including 18 F-FDG PET/CT and brain MRI, revealed progressive disease with increasing metastatic burden in the lungs, mediastinum, brain, and distal colon. The patient underwent multiple systemic treatments over approximately 30 months, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors, an mTOR inhibitor (sirolimus), and immune checkpoint inhibition (pembrolizumab), alongside multiple courses of radiotherapy. The entire treatment timeline illustrates the complex, multidisciplinary management required for this ultra-rare malignancy.This case highlights the critical role of histopathological and molecular confirmation, multidisciplinary care, and emerging targeted and immunotherapy approaches in pediatric ASPS. Collaborative multicenter trials are urgently needed to establish evidencebased treatment strategies for this challenging disease.
Keywords: Alveolar soft part sarcoma, pediatric sarcoma, ASPSCR1-TFE3 fusion, targeted therapy, Immunotherapy, Molecular diagnostics, pediatric oncology, case report. Tables: 1 Figures: 5 Alveolar soft part sarcoma
Received: 30 May 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Çalışkan Kamış and Yağcı. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Şule Çalışkan Kamış, Adana City Training and Research Hospital, Ministry of Health (Turkey), Adana, Türkiye
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