[Primary cutaneous leiomyosarcoma]

Primary leiomyosarcomas of the superficial soft tissues are very rare neoplasms. Because of the different biological behaviour, they should be divided into cutaneous and subcutaneous tumours. Differential diagnosis includes leiomyomas, skin metastases from extracutaneous leiomyosarcomas, and other spindle-cell tumours of the skin. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical investigations are useful when light microscopic features do not allow an unequivocal diagnosis. Although local recurrences develop in almost half the patients with cutaneous leiomyosarcomas, the prognosis is predominantly good. In contrast, metastatic spread is more common in patients with subcutaneous leiomyosarcomas. Treatment for superficial leiomyosarcomas consists in wide excision. We report on a 76-year-old women with a local recurrence of a primary cutaneous leiomyosarcoma.