Myxofibrosarcoma Vanishes After Diagnostic Biopsy in Rare Case

A 59-year-old woman is in remission from an aggressive myxofibrosarcoma after the tumour vanished completely following a diagnostic biopsy, with no additional treatment required. The woman noticed a rapidly growing lump in her arm a few weeks before seeking medical help. When she did, the tumour measured 2 centimetres wide and was located in the connective tissue between her skin and muscle.

A biopsy performed by Rohit Sharma at Marshfield Clinic Health System in Wisconsin revealed aggressive cancer cells consistent with myxofibrosarcoma, a tumour likely to spread. Sharma and his colleagues marked the tumour’s location with tattoo ink before briefly inserting a thin needle to extract the sample.

The woman reported that after the biopsy the tumour started to go down within three to four days.

She returned for surgery two weeks after the biopsy, at which point the tumour had completely disappeared. The team surgically excised the tissue surrounding where the tumour had been and confirmed there were no cancer cells. The woman is now in remission despite receiving no treatment beyond the biopsy.

She is one of just nine known cases where a biopsy led to a myxofibrosarcoma disappearing within a few weeks. 107111. @NewScientist reported on the findings. Rohit Sharma said the timing of the biopsy and resolution suggests there’s an immune reaction occurring.

He added that any type of cancer disappearing after biopsy is highly unusual but has been most commonly reported for cancers of the skin. Sharma proposed a mechanism in which taking a biopsy may cause cancer cells to die and release inflammatory signals that activate natural killer cells.

This process may cause more cancer-specific proteins to be released, activating T cells to destroy cancer cells.

Toby Lawrence, at the Centre for Immunology of Marseille-Luminy in France, said it’s extremely remarkable. He added that it really suggests some kind of immune activation in response to the injury of the biopsy, because it had extremely rapid effects on tumour growth. Lawrence said the lucky few probably have certain genetic factors and environmental exposures that allow this immune response.

He stated that unpicking genetic and medical history factors from these rare cases could improve general cancer therapy responses. 107111.