Long-term survival in an adult metastatic renal peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PPNET) with multimodality treatment including high-dose chemotherapy

We describe a 42-year-old male patient with a primitive peripheral neuroectodermal tumor (PPNET) arising from the kidney. The patient was treated sequentially with surgery, radiotherapy, experimental cytokine treatment (rhIL-6), combination chemotherapy and consolidated in complete remission with high-dose chemotherapy, supported by autologous stem cells (AST) and hematopoietic growth factors. The patient remains in complete remission at 34+ months after AST and is surviving disease-free for five years after initial presentation. The case presented here is unusual because of the renal origin and the long remission duration and survival when compared with the usual outcome of adult metastatic PPNET. High-dose chemotherapy may have favorably influenced the outcome in this patient. The case is discussed in the context of the general treatment of metastatic PPNET.