A solitary fibrous tumor in the external auditory meatus

Abstract

We herein describe a rare case of a spindle-cell neoplasm arising in the external auditory canal. A 38-year-old man presented with a progressive swelling of the entrance of left external auditory meatus. The patient underwent a surgical removal of the tumor. A light microscopic study showed a spindle-cell proliferation with a collagenous stroma and a staghorn-like vascular pattern. The tumor cells were immunohistochemically positive for vimentin and CD34. The tumor was thereafter diagnosed to be a solitary fibrous tumor (SFT). SFTs most commonly occur in the pleura and are supposed to originate from submesothelial connective tissue. Although, several cases of extrapleural SFT have been reported, no SFT arising in the entrance of left external auditory canal have ever been reported in the literature. As a basically benign tumor, it occasionally relapses or metastasizes after excision, and therefore a careful follow up is necessary.