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Verrucous angiosarcoma of the skin: a distinct variant of cutaneous angiosarcoma[Note 1. Two cases of this report have been presented at ...]
Author(s) -
DiazCascajo C.,
Weyers W.,
Borghi S.,
Reichel M.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
histopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.626
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1365-2559
pISSN - 0309-0167
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2559.1998.00430.x
Subject(s) - angiosarcoma , dermis , pathology , medicine , papillary dermis , hemangiosarcoma , hyperplasia , dermatology , biopsy , epidermis (zoology) , anatomy
Aims Cutaneous angiosarcoma is a malignant vascular neoplasm with well established clinical and histopathological features. Epidermal changes in cutaneous angiosarcoma other than atrophy and necrosis have not been described. In this study, we report three cases of a peculiar variant of angiosarcoma with striking verrucous changes of the overlying epidermis. Methods and results On light microscopy, verrucous changes characterized by marked pseudocarcinomatous epithelial hyperplasia with hypergranulosis, compact orthokeratosis, and papillomatosis were present overlying an angiosarcoma in the dermis. Clinically the lesions presented as violaceous to brown scaly verrucous nodules or plaques. All lesions developed on an extremity. Conclusions Verrucous epidermal changes seem to be a manifestation of pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia, presumably caused by lymphoedema and the superficial setting of the tumour in the papillary dermis. It is important to be aware of this presentation of angiosarcoma because verrucous epidermal changes may be seen in a wide variety of skin diseases. Furthermore, a biopsy that includes the dermis is necessary to ensure that the angiosarcoma underlying the hyperplastic epidermis is correctly identified. The descriptive appellation verrucous angiosarcoma of the skin is proposed to designate a newly recognized variant of angiosarcoma.