A 63-year-old woman presenting with a synovial sarcoma of the hand: a case report

Introduction Synovial sarcoma is a high-grade, soft-tissue sarcoma that most frequently is located in the vicinity of joints, tendons or bursae, although it can also be found in extra-articular locations. Most patients with synovial sarcoma of the hand are young and have a poor prognosis, as these tumors are locally aggressive and are associated with a relatively high metastasis rate. According to the literature, local recurrence and/or metastatic disease is found in nearly 80% of patients. Current therapy comprises surgery, systemic and limb perfusion chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, the 5-year survival rate is estimated to be only around 27% to 55%. Moreover, most authors agree that synovial sarcoma is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed malignancies of soft tissues because of their slow growing pattern, benign radiographic appearance, ability to change size, and the fact that they may elicit pain similar to that caused by common trauma.