Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in neurobifromatosis type-1: two case reports

INTRODUCTION: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors are rare soft tissue sarcomas. They are considered to carry a poor prognosis with current therapeutic approaches. Successful treatment depends on a multimodal approach. CASE PRESENTATION: The authors report two cases with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors arising from pre-existing neurofibromas in the grounds of neurofibromatis-type I. Complete surgical removal of all lesions is considered before and after induction chemotherapy. Correlation of the response to chemotherapy in the context of the immuno-histopathological features of the tumors is also discussed with reference to the existing literature. CONCLUSION: A need for a multidisciplinary approach with chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy is anticipated in the management of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors as described in these two reported cases. It is felt that further research on the molecular aspects of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors and neurofibromatis-type I will optimize treatment strategies in the future.