Comprehensive Review of Reported Nonclassical Spindle Cell Lipoma Presentations and a Unique Case Report

Spindle cell lipoma (SCL) is a rare subset of benign lipomatous neoplasms, making up approximately 1.5% of all adipocytic neoplasms. Since SCLs were first described in 1975, numerous nonclassical cases have been reported in the literature, with variation in location, cytologic composition, patient demographic, and progression. Although some previous reports review related cases of specific rare presentations or institution-based summaries, no comprehensive summary of published nonclassical SCL case reports has been done.

PubMed was queried for nonclassical presentations of SCL from 1978 to 2018. The nonclassical characteristics were analyzed and described. Those with multiple nonclassical features were studied for common characteristics. The Fisher exact test was used, and a P value of 0.05 was determined to be statistically significant.

We present the first case of a patient with six nonclassical findings: a fast-growing, infiltrating into skeletal muscle, located in two positions on the chin of an 18-year-old African American woman. In this review of the existing nonclassical SCL, we evaluate 125 cases for demographics, location, size, erosion/infiltration, multiple lesions in one individual, and the number of nonclassical findings in one individual. Women and younger than 40-year-old patients significantly present with more than one nonclassical finding.

Thorough characterization of the rare nonclassical cases of this benign condition could guide diagnostic decision-making and identify trends in disease presentation over time as well as alert the clinician to the increased risk of rapid regrowth or invasion in an individual with nonclassical findings especially young age and female gender.