[Malignant hemangioendothelioma of the choroid]

The authors report the case of a malignant hemangioendothelioma of the choroid occurred in a 62 years old man. Clinically the lesion simulated a malignant melanoma but the histological examination showed an unpigmented tumour consisting of nests of large, pleomorphic cells proliferating inside reticular sheaths. The immunohistochemical identification of Factor VIII Related Antigen by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method of Sternberger permitted the identification of their endothelial nature. This case which seems to be the first described in the literature, is distinguished from benign hemangioendothelioma and from neoplastic angioendotheliomatosis.