Malignant epithelioid angiomyolipoma ('sarcoma ex angiomyolipoma') of the kidney: a case report and review of the literature

Malignant epithelioid angiomyolipoma is a recently described rare tumor of the kidney. Its existence has been questioned, however, on the basis of incomplete evidence of malignant behavior, the absence of an associated classic angiomyolipoma component, or the absence of immunoreactivity for HMB-45 in some cases. We describe a case that was HMB-45-positive and arose in association with a classic angiomyolipoma. The patient was treated with a partial nephrectomy. Three years later, she developed rapidly enlarging liver nodules. A fine-needle aspiration of the liver confirmed the presence of pleomorphic epithelioid cells morphologically and immunohistochemically identical to those comprising the primary renal tumor. After two cycles of treatment with doxorubicin, there was a 50% reduction in the size of the tumors with marked improvement in performance status. We believe this case confirms the existence of a malignant epithelioid angiomyolipoma.