Neurothekeomas of the thoracic and lumbar area in an adult man: A case report

Abstract

Neurothekeomas are unusual benign soft tissue tumors of the peripheral nervous system, which commonly occur on the head, neck and upper extremities of young females in the second and third decades of life. This is the first case report of neurothekeoma developing simultaneously in the thoracic and lumbar area in a 51-year-old male. The two tumors were completely excised along the capsule under local anaesthesia and the incisions were closed in layers following adequate hemostasis. Histopathologically, the examination of the microscopic slides from the thoracic and lumbar masses revealed the presence of spindle and similar epithelioid cells arranged in fascicles, often in a geographical pattern, in a background of myxoid stroma. The immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the tumor cells were positive for vimentin, CD57 and actin and negative for S-100 protein, HMB-45 and CD34. The tumors were diagnosed as neurothekeomas. The patient remains alive and well on follow-up at 7 years, without evidence of recurrence.