[Good response to treatment with the selective tyrosine-kinase inhibitor imatinib in a patient with metastatic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans].

A 37-year-old man was diagnosed with metastatic dermatofibrosarcoma. Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare skin tumour with a strong tendency for infiltrative growth, resulting in a high rate of local recurrences; metastatic disease develops in approximately 5% of patients, especially in the lungs. On the basis of some recent publications about the use of imatinib in patients with dermatofibrosarcoma, the patient was prescribed this drug. The treatment resulted in a partial response. Imatinib is the first registered selective tyrosine-kinase inhibitor for treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia. The inhibition of tyrosine kinase interrupts the proliferative signal transduction.