[A patient with von Recklinghausen's disease associated with polymyositis, asymptomatic pheochromocytoma, and primary hepatic leiomyosarcoma].

A 72-year-old woman with von Recklinghausen's disease was referred to our hospital because of pain and muscle weakness in her thighs. She had elevated serum values of creatine kinase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aldolase. Based on these results, a diagnosis of polymyositis was made. Treatment with prednisolone improved muscle strength, and laboratory values returned to normal. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen, and 131I-metaiodobenzyl guanidine MIBG scintigraphy demonstrated a tumor 3 cm in diameter in the region of the left adrenal gland. Endocrinologic investigation disclosed elevation of serum and urine catecholamines. Since the blood pressure was normal, nonfunctioning pheochromocytoma was diagnosed clinically. The nonhypertensive course was attributed to reduced vascular response to noradrenaline. Serum lactate dehydrogenase. alkaline phosphatase. and asparate aminotransferase became elevated, and abdominal computed tomography showed a well-defined mass measuring 13 x 12 x 10 cm in the right lobe of the liver. The patient underwent right trisegmentectomy and left adrenalectomy. Histologically the adrenal tumor was a typical pheochromocytoma. The hepatic tumor was a leiomyosarcoma consisting of elongated spindle-shaped atypical cells arranged in intersecting bundles. Immunohistochemically, the cells of this tumor were reactive for alpha-smooth muscle actin and vimentin. The leiomyosarcoma recurred and metastasized to the liver. Eight months after onset of symptom, the patient developed hepatic coma and died. The mean age at presentation with pheochromocytoma in von Recklinghausen's disease patients age is 42 years. Our patient was considerably older. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of a patient with von Recklinghausen's disease developing polymyositis. asymptomatic pheochromocytoma, and primary hepatic leiomyosarcoma and illustrates the need to remain aware of the possibility of cancer in von Recklinghausen's disease.