Keywords
Immunohistochemistry
Neurothekeoma
Soft tissue tumor
Case report
Categories
Data Availability Statement
The data supporting the findings of this case report are not publicly available in order to protect patient privacy and confidentiality. All relevant clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical information supporting the conclusions of this report is included within the article. Additional de-identified details may be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and subject to institutional and ethical considerations.
How to Cite
Abstract
Neurothekeoma is a rare, benign neoplastic process that most commonly presents on the head and neck of young adults. We report a case of cellular neurothekeoma in a middle-aged woman with a thigh lesion showing histologic features that closely mimicked malignant tumors, particularly undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, sarcomatoid carcinoma, and amelanotic melanoma.
A dermal/subcutaneous thigh lesion demonstrated marked cytologic atypia and an infiltrative growth pattern on histologic evaluation. Immunohistochemistry supported the diagnosis of cellular neurothekeoma: tumor cells were positive for CD10 and showed very focal MITF staining, and negative for S100, SOX10, desmin, EMA, AE1/AE3, SMA, NSE, and factor XIIIa. The lesion was completely excised with clear margins. At 12 months of clinical follow-up, no recurrence was observed.
Cellular neurothekeoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of atypical dermal soft-tissue masses with worrisome histologic features. Ancillary studies, particularly immunohistochemistry, are essential to exclude aggressive mimics and avoid overtreatment, although conclusions remain limited by the single-case nature of this report and the available literature.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Abdulkarim Hasan, Khalid Nafie, Okba Merabet, Stephen Osasan, Samira Attar, Mohammed S. Abdelwahed, Ali Nagi