Soft tissue tumor
Revision as of 16:58, 9 December 2022 by Mikael Häggström (talk | contribs) (→Evaluation: Consultation)
Author:
Mikael Häggström [note 1]
Contents
Gross processing
If it appears fatty, gross and evaluate as a lipomatous tumor.
Generally sample one slice per centimeter.
Evaluation
In case of spindle cell tumors (having elongated nuclei), the following features may help to roughly classify the tumor:
- Pointed on both ends: True fibroblastic tumors
- Pointed on one end and blunted on the other ("bullet-shaped"): Neural/nerve sheath tumors (see section below)
- Blunted on both ends ("cigar-shaped"): Smooth muscle tumor
- Triangular: Myofibroblastic
In uncertain cases, the following immunohistochemistry markers are usually helpful:
- CD34, indicating a solitary fibrous tumor
- S100, indicating a neural or nerve sheath tumor (see section below)
- Desmin, indicating a muscular tumor (skeletal muscle or Smooth muscle tumor)
- Beta catenin, indicating fibromatosis
Also consider a sarcoma as a differential diagnosis, and if unsure, have a low threshold for consulting with people with expertise in the matter, as the difference between benign and malignant spindle cells is relatively subtle.
Neural or nerve sheath tumors
Further information: Evaluation of suspected malignancies
Notes
- ↑ For a full list of contributors, see article history. Creators of images are attributed at the image description pages, seen by clicking on the images. See Patholines:Authorship for details.
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References
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