Leiomyosarcoma of the skin and subcutaneous tissue

Abstract

Leiomyosarcomas arising in the skin and subcutaneous tissue are rare tumors, and diagnosis usually is made by microscopic examination of the lesion. These lesions typically appear as a single, smooth nodule in the skin but may also occur as multiple nodules with varying surface changes. After local excision, these lesions recur in a large proportion of patients. However, metastatic spread that leads to death seems to occur only in patients with the subcutaneous variety of the tumor. Three patients had varied clinical appearances of leiomyosarcomas. In one case, which was available for long-term evaluation, no recurrence was noted six years after surgical excision of a single lesion.

Leiomyosarcoma of the thumb: a case report and literature review

“…Apart from causing surface bulging, subcutaneous LS is usually associated with minimal change in the overlying skin. In contrast, the cutaneous form often leads to skin ulceration, discoloration, or umblication [1,5,6,7]. Our patient was 49 years old and had cutaneous LS.…”

“…Leiomyosarcoma is considered to be a tumor of adults, and most often develops in the uterus, the gastrointestinal tract, or the extremities [1,4,5,6,7,8,9]. The microscopic features of this neoplasm have been described in detail by numerous investigators [1,4,5,6,7,8,9].…”

“…The microscopic features of this neoplasm have been described in detail by numerous investigators [1,4,5,6,7,8,9]. In contrast to benign smooth muscle tumors, LS cells exhibit a high mitotic rate.…”

“…LS of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue Cutaneous and subcutaneous LS represent 2-3% of all superficial soft-tissue sarcomas. These forms most often present between the fifth and seventh decades of life, and usually develop on the hair-bearing extensor surface of the extremities [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. In a series published by Fields and Helwig [7], 55% of the primary cutaneous LS cases and 87% of the primary subcutaneous LS cases were in the extremities.…”

“…Immunohistochemical and morphological findings help to distinguish LS from these masses [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13].…”