Información de la revista
Vol. 106. Núm. 6.
Páginas 522-524 (julio - agosto 2015)
Vol. 106. Núm. 6.
Páginas 522-524 (julio - agosto 2015)
Case and Research Letters
Acceso a texto completo
Ultrasound Features of Cellular Neurothekeoma
Neurotequeoma celular: descripción ecográfica
Visitas
5385
M. Aguado Lobo
Autor para correspondencia
martaaguadolobo@yahoo.es

Corresponding author.
, B. Echeverría-García, H. Álvarez-Garrido, J. Borbujo
Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain
Este artículo ha recibido
Información del artículo
Texto completo
Bibliografía
Descargar PDF
Estadísticas
Figuras (2)
Tablas (1)
Table 1. Ultrasound differential diagnosis of tumor lesions.
Texto completo

The cellular neurothekeoma is a rare benign tumor of uncertain histogenesis.1,2 It was first thought to be the same as nerve sheath myxoma, but it is now known to be a different entity. The tumor appears in young women in the first 3 decades of life as a single papular or nodular lesion, of pale erythematous, pink or normal skin color. It arises on the head or neck. Histologically it is a nonencapsulated tumor formed of epithelioid and spindle-shaped cells, occasionally with poorly-defined margins. It develops in the dermis and in the subcutaneous cellular tissue and can extend down to the muscle plane. Occasionally, a degree of cellular atypia has been described, though this does not appear to affect the prognosis. The treatment of choice is surgery; recurrence is related to involvement of the surgical margins.

In recent years there has been an increase in the use of imaging studies in dermatology, not only as diagnostic tools but also to complete the preoperative workup for tumors.3–5 Dermatologic high-frequency ultrasound has shown the greatest development.

We present the case of a woman of 51 years of age, with a past medical history of fibromyalgia on treatment with paracetamol and diazepam. She was seen for a lesion in the left supraciliary region that had appeared 2 years earlier and had grown progressively. The lesion produced local pain. Physical examination revealed a clearly delimited, hard subcutaneous tumor with no changes in the overlying skin. The lesion was more palpable than visible. Skin ultrasound showed a clearly delimited hypoechoic lesion of 7.51×5.62mm, with no posterior acoustic enhancement or shadow; the lesion was located in the dermis and reached the muscle plane but did not affect the bone (Fig. 1A). Doppler ultrasound showed no increased vascularity within the lesion or at its margins (Fig. 1B). Histopathology was compatible with a cellular neurothekeoma with cellular atypia. It was decided to perform complete excision of the lesion, which was found to reach the muscle plane. The patient has been followed up in outpatients for 3 months and has presented no clinical signs of recurrence.

Figure 1.

A, B-mode: clearly defined, hypoechoic lesion with no acoustic enhancement or shadow, located in the dermis, without affecting bone. B, Color Doppler: This did not reveal vascularity within or at the periphery of the tumor.

(0.16MB).

High-frequency skin ultrasound was introduced recently to dermatology and it has been used as a technique to complement physical examination.3–5 Ultrasound has certain advantages compared with other imaging studies (computed tomography [CT] and magnetic resonance [MRI]) in the field of neoplastic skin disease: it is a rapid and noninvasive technique that can be performed in the outpatient clinic, avoiding delays, and it offers a complete image of the lesion in real time; it distinguishes between the layers of the skin and skin or nail lesions of less than 3mm5; it is less costly4,5; it does not involve ionizing radiation, and can therefore be used in children, pregnant women, and patients with pacemakers5; and, as with CT or MRI, it provides information on the anatomy of the region, thus being of considerable assistance when planning surgery.3–5 However, further research is still needed to consolidate the technique and to create a library of ultrasound patterns and nomenclature common to the different disease processes.

Despite the above, there are few references in the literature on the use of imaging studies in the workup for cellular neurothekeoma,6–8 and none of these has used ultrasound. CT shows neurothekeoma as a well-defined, round or oval, hypodense or isodense lesion.6,7 The MRI image is isointense or hypointense in T1 and hyperintense in T2.6–8 Kamo et al.8 used MRI in the preoperative workup of a cellular neurothekeoma with poorly-defined borders in the nasal region of a young patient and reported that it can be useful in cases of poorly defined lesions. Finally, positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose shows a homogeneous increase in metabolic uptake in the lesion.6

In our case, dermatologic high-frequency ultrasound enabled certain clinically common tumors to be ruled out (Table 1). In addition, it revealed that it was not a vascular or malignant lesion as, in addition to the infiltrative features of the lesion, there would have had to be evidence of increased vascularity of the lesion; bone involvement was also ruled out, which helped when planning surgery. Recently we have also had the opportunity to use ultrasound to evaluate a microcystic adnexal carcinoma in the same anatomic region and with a similar clinical presentation. That lesion presented as a hypoechoic tumor with infiltrating borders, but in contrast to the neurothekeoma, there were also hyperechoic spots (Fig. 2), corresponding to the corneal cysts described in the histological study.

Table 1.

Ultrasound differential diagnosis of tumor lesions.

Skin Tumors  Ultrasound Description 
Epidermal cyst  Dermal or subdermal tumor with variable interior pattern (homogeneous, heterogeneous) and posterior enhancement and lateral oblique shadows. It may show a drainage channel to the surface (punctum) as a hypoechoic line. It is not usually vascular 
Lipoma  Subcutaneous tumor of variable echogenicity (it typically shows parallel hyperechoic lines), with poor vascularity. Compression is different to the adjacent fat 
Pilomatrixoma  Dermal or subdermal tumor with a hypoechoic border (halo sign) and with a hyperechoic interior due to calcifications that produce an acoustic shadow. Doppler reveals vascularity 
Dermoid cyst  Well-defined, hypoechoic tumor adherent to deeper planes and that does not show posterior enhancement 
Dermatofibroma  Poorly defined, hypoechoic dermal tumor that does not usually present visible blood vessels 
Plexiform neurofibroma  Lesions with a hypoechoic periphery and hyperechoic center 
Cellular neurothekeomaa  Clearly defined, hypoechoic dermal tumor with no posterior enhancement or acoustic shadow. No increased vascularity 
Microcystic adnexal carcinoma  Hypoechoic tumor with infiltrating borders and containing hyperechoic spots 

Source: Echeverría-García et al.,4 Wortsman5 and Alfageme.9

a

Case described in this report.

Figure 2.

Hypoechoic tumor with infiltrating borders and containing hyperechoic spots.

(0.09MB).

In conclusion, we have presented the ultrasound image of a cellular neurothekeoma located in the left ciliary region of a 51-year-old woman. Although histopathology continues to be the gold standard for the definitive diagnosis, and further research is necessary to establish a common ultrasound pattern of the neurothekeoma, we consider dermatologic high-frequency ultrasound to be a noninvasive and rapid diagnostic tool that helps to distinguish this tumor from other subcutaneous lesions and that can define the lesion preoperatively.

References
[1]
J.L. Hornick, C.D.M. Fletcher.
Cellular neurothekeoma: Detailed characterization in a series of 133 cases.
Am J Surg Pathol, 31 (2007), pp. 329-340
[2]
J.F. Fetsch, W.B. Laskin, J.R. Hallman, G.P. Lupton, M. Miettinen.
Neurothekeoma: An analysis of 178 tumors with detailed immunohistochemical data and long term patient follow-up information.
Am J Surg Pathol, 31 (2007), pp. 1103-1114
[3]
F. Alfageme Roldán.
Ecografía cutánea.
Actas Dermosifiliogr, 105 (2014), pp. 891-899
[4]
B. Echeverría-García, J. Borbujo, F. Alfageme.
Incorporación de la ecografía en dermatología.
Actas Dermosifiliogr, 105 (2014), pp. 887-890
[5]
X. Wortsman.
Common applications of dermatologic sonography.
J Ultrasound Med, 31 (2012), pp. 97-111
[6]
H.J. Kim, C.H. Baek, Y.H. Ko, J.Y. Choi.
Neurothekeoma of the tongue: CT, MR, and FDG PET imaging findings.
Am J Neuroradiol, 27 (2006), pp. 1823-1825
[7]
H. O’Rourke, S.P. Meyers, P.J. Katzman.
Neurothekeoma in the upper extremity. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography findings.
J Comput Assist Tomogr, 29 (2005), pp. 847-850
[8]
R. Kamo, M. Yasumizu, S. Yanagihara, T. Ozawa, D. Tsuruta.
Localization of cellular neurothekeoma with magnetic resonance microscopy imaging.
J Dermatol, 41 (2014), pp. 1-2
[9]
F. Alfageme.
Claves ecográficas de los tumores cutáneos benignos más frecuentes.
Manual de ecografía cutánea, pp. 53-590

Please cite this article as: Aguado Lobo M, Echeverría-García B, Álvarez-Garrido H, Borbujo J. Neurotequeoma celular: descripción ecográfica. Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2015;106:522–524.

Copyright © 2014. Elsevier España, S.L.U. and AEDV
Descargar PDF
Idiomas
Actas Dermo-Sifiliográficas
Opciones de artículo
Herramientas
es en

¿Es usted profesional sanitario apto para prescribir o dispensar medicamentos?

Are you a health professional able to prescribe or dispense drugs?