Solitary fibrous tumor of the skin

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm that most commonly involves the pleura, but is increasingly more often observed in extrapleural locations. A 37-year-old woman presented with an SFT involving the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the scalp. Histologically, SFT is well circumscribed and composed of uniform spindle cells arranged in interlacing fascicles. It exhibits alternating hypercellular and hypocellular areas with abundant thick, often keloid-like, hyalinized collagen. Hemangiopericytoma-like areas are frequently prominent. Immunohistochemical markers for smooth muscle, neural, and epithelial differentiation are negative, but generalized positivity for CD-34 is characteristic. Because of the expanding spectrum of anatomic involvement of SFT, it is not surprising that on rare occasions this tumor may involve the skin.