Clinicopathological profile of myxoid soft tissue tumors- A retrospective study in a tertiary care hospital in South India.

Background: Myxoid soft tissue tumors are rare and diagnostically challenging group of tumors with varied biological behavior ranging from benign, locally aggressive to distantly metastasizing malignant tumors.

Aims: The objectives of the study are to identify the relative frequency and distribution of myxoid soft tissue tumors among patients in a tertiary care hospital and to study the clinicopathological features of these tumors. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in the department of pathology of a tertiary care hospital from January 2008 to December 2013.

Materials and Methods: Clinical and pathological details of all the 80 myxoid soft tissue tumors reported during the study period were retrieved from the records of department of pathology. Corresponding Hematoxylin & Eosin (H & E) slides were reviewed, and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was carried out for confirmation. The relationship among various prognostic variables was analyzed in case of myxoid sarcomas.

Results: Myxoid soft tissue tumors accounted for 3.7% among the soft tissue tumors with a predominance of malignant myxoid sarcomas (71.25%) in contrast to the overall picture of sarcomas. Myxoid neurofibroma (34.78%) was the most common benign tumor, while myxofibrosarcoma (33.33%) was the frequent myxoid sarcoma. A statistically significant correlation was seen between tumor size and depth (P-value: 0.038) and also between presence of vascular invasion and histological grade (P-value: 0.012) of sarcomas.

Conclusion: Light microscopic morphology, supplemented by ancillary techniques like IHC, remains the cornerstone for diagnosis of myxoid soft tissue tumors.