Alveolar soft part sarcoma of tongue in 14-year-old boy

Abstract

Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare, aggressive malignancy of uncertain histological origin with propensity of vascular invasion and distant metastasis. ASPS demonstrates strong predilection for adolescents and young adults with a female preponderance. The head and neck region is the commonly affected region in the pediatric population with orbit and tongue being most common. The indolent clinical course and asymptomatic nature often leads to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. Herein, we present a case of ASPS affecting the tongue in 14-year-old boy which clinically mimicked hemangioma, common benign vascular tumor of tongue.

Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma of the Tongue: A Rare Tumor at an Unusual Location

“…ASPS should be considered a differential diagnosis of lingual soft tissue mass in young children due to their tendency for early metastasis. Histopathological examination and special stains help in confirming the diagnosis of ASPS [ 21 ]. By far the majority of the cases reported in the head and neck area are in young people.…”

Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma of the Tongue in an Adolescent

“…Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a rare malignant neoplasm of uncertain histogenesis, first described in 1952 by Christopherson [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. It represents between 0.4% and 1.0% of all soft tissue sarcomas and occurs in 5% of all non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas in pediatrics [ 4 , 5 ].…”