Angiosarcoma arising in a solitary schwannoma (neurilemoma) of the sciatic nerve

Am J Surg Pathol. 1996 Nov;20(11):1412-7. doi: 10.1097/00000478-199611000-00014.

Abstract

Angiosarcomas rarely develop within a peripheral nerve or a peripheral nerve sheath tumor. We describe an epithelioid angiosarcoma that arose in a benign schwannoma (neurilemoma) of the right thigh in a 65-year-old man who did not have von Recklinghausen's disease. Histologically, the resected tumor was a high-grade undifferentiated sarcoma that was predominantly arranged in solid sheets or nests and composed of epithelioid cells. The endothelial origin of the tumor was suggested by Factor VIII R-ag, Ulex europaeus-I, CD34, CD31, BNH9, and vimentin immunoreactivity, along with the ultrastructural evidence of occasional Weibel-Palade bodies. In this location, epithelioid angiosarcoma should be distinguished from malignant transformation of a schwannoma with epithelioid changes. This observation stresses the importance of immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis in the differential diagnosis of vascular tumors with features of epithelioid sarcoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Biomarkers
  • Hemangiosarcoma / chemistry
  • Hemangiosarcoma / complications
  • Hemangiosarcoma / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Male
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / chemistry
  • Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / pathology*
  • Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue / chemistry
  • Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue / complications
  • Neoplasms, Nerve Tissue / pathology*
  • Neoplasms, Vascular Tissue / chemistry
  • Neoplasms, Vascular Tissue / complications
  • Neoplasms, Vascular Tissue / pathology*
  • Neurilemmoma / chemistry
  • Neurilemmoma / complications
  • Neurilemmoma / pathology*
  • Sciatic Nerve / chemistry
  • Sciatic Nerve / pathology*
  • Thigh / pathology
  • Thigh / surgery

Substances

  • Biomarkers