Angiofibroma of soft tissue

Angiofibroma of soft tissue
SpecialtyDermatology, General surgery, Pathology
TypesBenign
Causesunknown
TreatmentSurgical removal
PrognosisGood
FrequencyRare

Angiofibroma of soft tissue (AFST), also termed angiofibroma, not otherwise specified, is a recently recognized and rare disorder that was classified in the category of benign fibroblastic and myofibroblastic tumors by the World Health Organization in 2020.[1] An AFST tumor is a neoplasm (i.e. growth of tissue that is not coordinated with the normal surrounding tissue and persists in growing even if the original trigger for growth is removed) that was first described by A. Mariño-Enríquez and C.D. Fletcher in 2012.[2]

AFST tumors typically occur in a leg but can occur in other locations; they develop in older children and adults including elderly individuals. AFSTs are slow-growing, often painless tumors composed primarily of spindle-shaped cells and a prominent vascular network. The spindle-shaped cells are benign tumor cells that in almost all cases have chromosome abnormalities that are thought to contribute to their abnormal development and/or growth.[3]

AFST tumors are commonly treated by surgical excision although in uncommon cases they recur at the site of their removal and require further surgical treatment.[2] They do not metastasize to distant tissues and overall have a good prognosis.[4]

  1. ^ Sbaraglia M, Bellan E, Dei Tos AP (April 2021). "The 2020 WHO Classification of Soft Tissue Tumours: news and perspectives". Pathologica. 113 (2): 70–84. doi:10.32074/1591-951X-213. PMC 8167394. PMID 33179614.
  2. ^ a b Mariño-Enríquez A, Fletcher CD (April 2012). "Angiofibroma of soft tissue: clinicopathologic characterization of a distinctive benign fibrovascular neoplasm in a series of 37 cases". The American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 36 (4): 500–8. doi:10.1097/PAS.0b013e31823defbe. PMID 22301504. S2CID 45742809.
  3. ^ Kallen ME, Hornick JL (January 2021). "The 2020 WHO Classification: What's New in Soft Tissue Tumor Pathology?". The American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 45 (1): e1–e23. doi:10.1097/PAS.0000000000001552. PMID 32796172. S2CID 225430576.
  4. ^ Mindiola-Romero AE, Maloney N, Bridge JA, Korkolopoulou P, Sakellariou S, Linos K (February 2020). "A concise review of angiofibroma of soft tissue: A rare newly described entity that can be encountered by dermatopathologists". Journal of Cutaneous Pathology. 47 (2): 179–185. doi:10.1111/cup.13580. PMID 31568567. S2CID 203625513.