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A rare non-gadolinium enhancing sarcoma brain metastasis with microenvironment dominated by tumor-associated macrophages.

A rare non-gadolinium enhancing sarcoma brain metastasis with microenvironment dominated by tumor-associated macrophages. Acta neuropathologica communications Rogawski, D., Wheeler, J., Nie, E., Zhu, W., Villanueva, E., Coffey, G., Ma, Q., Ganjoo, K., Fischbein, N., Iv, M., Vogel, H., Nagpal, S. 2024; 12 (1): 15

Abstract

Brain metastases occur in 1% of sarcoma cases and are associated with a median overall survival of 6 months. We report a rare case of a brain metastasis with unique radiologic and histopathologic features in a patient with low grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS) previously treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. The lone metastasis progressed in the midbrain tegmentum over 15 months as a non-enhancing, T2-hyperintense lesion with peripheral diffusion restriction, mimicking a demyelinating lesion. Histopathology of the lesion at autopsy revealed a rich infiltrate of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) with highest density at the leading edge of the metastasis, whereas there was a paucity of lymphocytes, suggestive of an immunologically cold environment. Given the important immunosuppressive and tumor-promoting functions of TAMs in gliomas and carcinoma/melanoma brain metastases, this unusual case provides an interesting example of a dense TAM infiltrate in a much rarer sarcoma brain metastasis.

View details for DOI 10.1186/s40478-023-01713-8

View details for PubMedID 38254244

View details for PubMedCentralID 5021195