Morphologic Overlap between Infantile Myofibromatosis and Infantile Fibrosarcoma: A Pitfall in Diagnosis

Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2008 Sep-Oct;11(5):355-62. doi: 10.2350/07-09-0355.1. Epub 2008 Feb 14.

Abstract

Infantile myofibromatosis (IM) is a distinctive mesenchymal disorder with different clinical forms, including solitary, multicentric, and generalized with visceral involvement. A wide morphologic spectrum is encountered, with the extremes resembling congenital infantile fibrosarcoma (CIFS) and infantile hemangiopericytoma. We report a series of lesions with mixed features of CIFS and IM and compare them in order to further define their clinicopathologic features and the significance of the so-called composite fibromatosis. Seven lesions with unusual overlapping morphologic "composite" features of both IM and CIFS were selected from a series of 106 myofibroblastic lesions. Three cases classified as composite infantile myofibromatoses (COIM) were highly cellular tumors with a diffuse growth of primitive mesenchymal cells and focal features of IM combined with areas resembling infantile fibrosarcoma (IF). Four cases were classified as IF. Three of these exhibited a biphasic pattern with foci resembling IM, including whorls of primitive and spindle cells and perivascular and intravascular projections of myofibroblastic nodules, and the 4th had a close histologic resemblance to a primitive, immature IM. With reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, the ETV6-NTRK3 transcript was absent in 3 COIM and was detected in 3 CIFS; the other CIFS had typical cytogenetic aberrations. On the basis of currently available information, COIM represents a morphologic variant of IM that can mimic IF. Careful histologic evaluation to detect the typical features of IM is essential to avoid classification as IF. Molecular analysis for the ETV6-NTRK3 gene fusion is an important diagnostic tool in this group of lesions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actins / metabolism
  • Antigens, CD34 / metabolism
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12 / chemistry
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15 / chemistry
  • DNA, Complementary / biosynthesis
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Fibrosarcoma / chemistry
  • Fibrosarcoma / congenital
  • Fibrosarcoma / diagnosis*
  • Fibrosarcoma / genetics
  • Fibrosarcoma / pathology*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Myofibromatosis / congenital
  • Myofibromatosis / diagnosis*
  • Myofibromatosis / genetics
  • Myofibromatosis / pathology*
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / genetics
  • RNA, Neoplasm / genetics
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Translocation, Genetic
  • Vimentin / metabolism

Substances

  • Actins
  • Antigens, CD34
  • DNA, Complementary
  • ETV6-NTRK3 fusion protein, human
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
  • RNA, Neoplasm
  • Vimentin