Response to chemotherapy combined with anlotinib plus anlotinib maintenance in intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round cell tumors (IADSRCT): a case report and literature review

BACKGROUND: Intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round cell tumors (IADSRCT) are rare and aggressive neoplasia that are resistant to chemotherapy. Anlotinib is an oral multi-target tyrosine kinase inhibitor that also has anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative properties. In this article, we report on a case showing effective and durable responses to chemotherapy combined with anlotinib in a young man with IADSRCT. CASE PRESENTATION: A 27-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of a palpable periumbilical mass that had been present for longer than 4 months. The diagnosis of IADSRCT was confirmed by biopsy and immunohistochemistry. An extensive unresectable metastasis was found on the initial diagnosis. The patient received six cycles of chemotherapy combined with anlotinib, and maintenance therapy with anlotinib was recommended. Hematochezia, proteinuria and hypertension were observed, however, long-term maintenance therapy was well tolerated. A partial response was observed after two cycles of combined therapy and the patient was still alive with stable disease at the time of reporting. CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy combined with anlotinib plus anlotinib maintenance showed promising efficacy and manageable toxicity in the treatment of advanced IADSRCT.