Chemoradiotherapy for Inoperable Carotid Body Leiomyosarcoma: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Vascular leiomyosarcoma is an extremely rare tumor and is associated with poor prognosis among leiomyosarcoma. Surgical resection remains the main treatment option. But outcome of definitive treatment with chemoradiotherapy in inoperable patients is not clear. Here, we report treatment and outcome of definitive chemoradiotherapy in a case of vascular leiomyosarcoma. A 64-year-old man with the initial presentation of pulsatile right neck mass was diagnosed with right carotid body leiomyosarcoma. He refused surgical intervention due to risk of carotid body injury and ischemic stroke. Successful tumor control was achieved with carboplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Investigational liquid biopsy for circulating sarcoma cells was also performed to analyze drug sensitivity profile of this rare tumor. One year after treatment, the disease remained well controlled and there was no evidence of baroreflex failure or treatment-related late toxicities. To our best knowledge, this is the first case report of right carotid body leiomyosarcoma controlled with definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The approach of personalized multi-modality treatment will be a focus of our future investigation.