Login / Signup

A concise review of angiofibroma of soft tissue: A rare newly described entity that can be encountered by dermatopathologists.

Andres E Mindiola-RomeroNolan MaloneyJulia A BridgePenelope KorkolopoulouStratigoula SakellariouKonstantinos D Linos
Published in: Journal of cutaneous pathology (2019)
Angiofibroma of soft tissue (AFST) is a newly described, rare mesenchymal neoplasm with fibroblastic and vascular components; it can be seen in both sexes and in a broad age range. It presents as a slowly enlarging mass, most often in the deep tissues of the upper and lower extremities, but occasionally in a superficial location where it may be encountered by dermatopathologists. It has a benign clinical course with a very low probability of recurrence after complete excision. This lesion has a prominent vasculature and may have an infiltrative growth pattern. These features could lead to a misdiagnosis, such as malignant vascular tumor, by an unwary dermatopathologist. The diagnosis of AFST initially relied solely on morphology and immunohistochemistry but, more recently, molecular studies have begun to play a role. Because of the potential for misdiagnosis, we present this review to raise awareness.
Keyphrases
  • soft tissue
  • stem cells
  • bone marrow
  • gene expression