Clinical and histopathological features of conjunctival myxoma and angiomyxoma

Abstract

To explore the clinical and pathological features of conjunctival myxoma and angiomyxoma. It was a retrospective case series study. The clinical and pathological features of 3 cases of conjunctival myxoma and 2 cases of conjunctival angiomyxoma were analyzed. These cases were treated from January 2005 to December 2010 at Tianjin Eye Hospital. Routine pathological examinations and immunohistochemical staining were performed, including staining for Vimentin, S-100, SMA and CD34. In the 5 patients, 2 cases were male and 3 cases were female. The mean age was (55.8 ± 14.8) years, ranging from 40 to 74 years. The tumors presented as yellow-pink, translucent, cystic and(or) with solid masses. Regarding the tumor location, 2 cases involved the temporal side, 1 case involved the nasal side, 1 case involved the nasal limbus and invaded the cornea, and 1 case involved the nasal, temporal and inferior parts. The lesions of the 5 cases were excised under local anaesthesia. Histopathological examination revealed that the conjunctival myxomas were composed of abundant mucoid material and relatively small numbers of small, ovoid, spindle and stellate shaped cells with sparse vessels. The histologic features of the conjunctival angiomyxoma were similar to those of myxomas with the exception of the former being characterized by a prominent vascular structure. The immunohistochemical staining showed that tumor cells were positive for Vimentin, but negative for S-100 protein; some tumor cells were positive for CD34 and SMA. The follow-up was performed in 4 cases post-operation. One case experienced recurrence 1 month after surgical excision. Most of the conjunctival myxoma and angiomyxoma appear as a local yellow-pink, translucent, cystic and(or) with solid mass, and some of which had multiple tumors. The preferred management route is complete surgical excision.