Atypical cellular neurothekeoma: A potential diagnostic pitfall for benign and malignant spindle cell lesions in skin

Neurothekeoma located in the hallux and axilla: Two case reports

BACKGROUND

Neurothekeomas (NTKs) are rare benign soft tissue tumours that typically occur in the head, trunk, and upper limbs and are rare in other parts of the body.

CASE SUMMARY

Herein, we present two rare cases in which primary NTKs were located in the hallux and axilla. A 47-year-old woman complained of a verrucous bulge on the plantar side of the left hallux. The surface skin of the tumour was abraded due to poor wound healing. A 6-year-old boy complained of a gradually growing subcutaneous mass in the axilla. The tumours of both patients were completely resected, and the diagnosis of NTK was confirmed by histopathology. At the one-year follow-up, both patients had a good prognosis without local recurrence.

CONCLUSION

To date, NTKs located in the hallux and axilla have rarely been reported in the literature. We describe NTKs that occurred in unconventional areas and summarize the challenges in their diagnosis and differential diagnosis.

Atypical cellular neurothekeoma (ACN) of the elderly: case report and brief review of the literature

Atypical cellular neurothekeoma (ACN) is an aggressive and rare variant of cellular neurothekeoma. Only few cases have been reported in the literature and the biological behavior seems to be uncertain. We describe the case of an ACN presenting on the scalp of an elderly man, emphasizing the cytologic features of malignancy. In addition, we provide a brief overview of the literature and discuss the differential diagnosis with other entities, and the possible diagnostic pitfalls.