Intravascular Fasciitis Research Articles

Nodular fasciitis and related pseudosarcomatous lesions of soft tissues.

Nodular fasciitis is characterized by a proliferation of spindle cells which may be misdiagnosed as sarcomas due to the rich cellularity, mitotic activity and variant morphologic patterns. This report includes 42 cases of nodular fasciitis and related conditions of skin and soft tissue from the pathology files of the Royal Brisbane Hospital, Queensland, Australia. There were 33 cases of nodular fasciitis, three cases of ossifying fasciitis, three cases of proliferative fasciitis, two cases of proliferative myositis and one case of intravascular fasciitis. Two-thirds of cases were referred from outside Royal Brisbane Hospital. Nodular fasciitis and ossifying occurred most commonly in young adults with 16 patients (44%) between the ages of 20 and 29. However, the other variants of nodular fasciitis including proliferative myositis and intravascular fasciitis occurred in older people (six patients being older than 49 years) and more commonly occurring in men (n=5). A painless rapidly growing mass was most common. The lesions of nodular fasciitis were most often located in the upper extremity with the forearm most commonly affected. Nodular fasciitis and related conditions are benign. All patients are alive and well 3 months to 13 years (mean 7.2 years) after simple local resection.

Intravascular fasclitis: A case report and review of the literature

A 49 year old man presented with a mass in the inguinal region that for 3 mths had been associated with slight discomfort. Clinically the mass was thought to be an enlarged lymph node. Histology however showed nodular fasciitis. There was also an associated smaller lesion that was histologically identical and which involved the wall of a medium sized vein with protrusion into its lumen. These appearances were typical of intravascular fasciitis. Review of the Royal Brisbane Hospital Pathology files for 12 yrs from 1982, revealed no other such cases. We describe here the clinical and pathological features of this case and review the literature on this rare condition.

Pseudosarcomatous proliferative lesions of soft tissues.

The pseudosarcomatous proliferative lesions of soft tissues are fascia-based fibroblastic and myofibroblastic lesions that have the potential to be overdiagnosed as sarcomas. They may be subtyped according to depth of involvement, age at presentation, and certain histologic features. Subtypes are proliferative fasciitis, proliferative myositis, nodular fasciitis, intravascular fasciitis, and cranial fasciitis. They are presumed to be reactive. Recurrences are rare after tissue-sparing surgical excision.

Angioinvasive plasma cell granulomas of the lung

A series of eight plasma cell granulomas of the lung were examined. Their clinical, pathologic, and immunohistochemical characteristics as well as the ultrastructural features of one case are in agreement with those found in the literature. One patient died after a surgical intervention complicated by invasion of pulmonary veins. This led to a search for vascular injuries in the other cases. On the whole, of eight cases, two showed vascular invasions at a distance, five (including the preceding ones) showed invasion of medium-sized blood vessels in the peripheral parts of the lesion, and three showed older invasions in their center; only two had no vascular lesions. To the authors' knowledge, vascular invasion at a distance has been reported only once to date. An inflammatory origin for these cytologically benign lesions remains possible, although a striking resemblance with intravascular fasciitis can also be shown. These lesions should be treated by radical and precocious surgery.

Intravascular fasciitis: Report of two cases and review of the literature

Intravascular fasciitis: Report of two cases and review of the literature

Intravascular fasciitis

Seventeen cases of intravascular fasciitis were reported from the files of the AFIP (14 cases) and the Pathology Department, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (three cases). It is characterized by the histologic features of nodular fasciitis but with intraluminal, intramural, and extramural involvement of small to medium-sized veins and arteries and multinodular or serpentine growth along the course of affected blood vessels. A painless, slowly growing mass was most common. Fourteen patients (82%) were under age 30 (range 1/2-57 years); the sex ratio was about equal. Seven cases were located in the upper extremity (three hand, two wrist or forearm, two shoulder), three on the ankle or lower leg, five on the head and neck, and two in the chest wall and breast. Most cases were small with a mean diameter of 1.5 cm, but two were elongated masses measuring 4-5 cm in length. At surgery, four cases showed intimate association with large veins or arteries. This type of fasciitis is rare and has been found in only one of 14 consecutive cases of modular fasciitis operated at this university hospital between 1969 and 1978. Six of 15 consultation cases were originally confused with sarcoma. Intravascular fasciitis is benign. Seven patients were free of disease from 2.5 to 20 years (mean 9.5 years); two patients had local recurrences.