While traditional
cytotoxic agents play a limited role in advanced
dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), the treatment of
sunitinib for patients with advanced DFSP after
imatinib failure is not well defined. The objective of this case report was to analyze the relationship between molecular mechanisms and clinical outcomes of
sunitinib treatment in patients with advanced DFSP after
imatinib failure. In this case report, a 37-year-old man suffered from advanced DFSP progression after surgical operation, microwave ablation, and
chemotherapy. The immunohistochemistry in this patient revealed abundant expression of
platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta on
tumor cells, which is one of the
drug targets of
sunitinib. The nucleotide sequence analysis revealed COL1A1-PDGFB fusion transcripts in this patient. Thus, we treated the patient with
sunitinib, a multi-targeted
tyrosine kinase inhibitor, after
imatinib failure.
After treatment with
sunitinib, the patient exhibited a partial response and 9 months' progression-free survival without significant adverse
drug effects. In our case, the patient with advanced DFSP experienced a favorable outcome in 9-months' progression-free survival and a significant improvement of quality of life without serious side effects after
sunitinib treatment. Therefore,
sunitinib could serve as another treatment option for patients with advanced DFSP.