Primary capillary hemangioblastoma of peripheral soft tissues

A case of capillary hemangioblastoma located in the peripheral soft tissue of the inner ankle in a 74-year-old woman is presented. The tumor was an unencapsulated but sharply circumscribed nodule 2.5 cm in size, of a yellow-white color. It showed reddish-brown spots with small cysts up to 2 mm filled with blood. Grossly the tumor was not attached to any peripheral nerve. Signs of von Hippel-Lindau's disease were excluded by thorough clinical evaluation. No additional tumor or erythrocytosis was found in the patient clinically. Immunohistochemically, the tumor stromal cell reacted strongly with antibodies to S-100 protein, NSE, and calponin and they were negative with antibodies to GFAP, CD34, CD31, cytokeratins, actin, desmin, EMA, and HMB-45. Endothelium of the capillaries reacted positively with antibodies to CD31, CD34, and Factor VIII-related protein. Capillary pericytes were actin-positive. All cells of the tumor stained positively with antibody to vimentin. MIB1 antibody reacted only in very few cells (<1%). Ultrastructurally, the stromal cells contained electron-lucent cytoplasm with lipid droplets, a small amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum, and glycogen particles. No electron-dense structures typical of secretory granules were seen in the stromal cells. No mutation of coding sequence of VHL gene was found.