Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor after radiotherapy

A 41-year-old man had a peripheral neuroectodermal tumor develop at the distal third of the fibula 4 years after radiotherapy for relapsed villonodular synovitis. This type of sarcoma usually is classified into the heterogeneic group of small round-cell bone tumors as a subdivision of Ewing's sarcomas. The immuno-staining positivity of the neoplastic cells for the neuron-specific enolase allowed the authors to make the diagnosis of a tumor with neuroectodermal origin. When the histologic study confirmed the diagnosis, the patient was treated with chemotherapy, surgical excision of the tumor, and adjuvant radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is thought to be involved in the genesis of osteogenic sarcomas as it has been shown in several reports, but there is no evidence in the literature of a peripheral neuroectodermal tumor developing after radiotherapy.