Aggressive Angiomyxoma: An Unusual Female Pelvic Tumour. Report of Three Cases and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Aggressive angiomyxoma was first described in 1983 by Steeper and Rosai, and fewer than 150 cases have been reported in the world medical literature. It is a soft-tissue tumour of the pelvis and perineum. The recurrence rate is high, and often extensive resections are performed with considerable morbidity. These tumours are benign, locally infiltrative mesenchymal neoplasms with a predilection for the female pelvis and perineum and they usually tend to recur. Furthermore, these tumours often reach too large dimensions before becoming clinically symptomatic; their incidence is higher in women of the reproductive age group; however a few cases of its occurrence outside the pelvis have also been reported. In this study, we reported three cases with aggressive pelvic angiomyxoma treated with surgical methods and used an approach that described by Kraske in order to get access to lower rectal cancers. Accurate preoperative diagnosis should alert the surgeon to the need for wide excision, which is essential for prevention of local recurrence.