Primary pulmonary glomus tumor: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of two cases

We present two cases of glomus tumors arising within the lung parenchyma. The patients are a 40-year-old man and a 51-year-old man. Clinically, the two men were asymptomatic, and the pulmonary tumor was detected during a routine chest roentgenographic examination. Complete surgical resection of the pulmonary tumors was performed. Grossly, the tumors measured 1.1 and 1.5 cm. in greatest dimension; they were well circumscribed and subpleural. Neither tumor showed evidence of invasion of lung or pleura. Histologically, both tumors had pseudocapsules, lacked invasion of surrounding lung structures, and demonstrated the appearance of the solid/mucohyaline, or "glomus tumor proper" type of neoplasm. This included oval-to-round cells, with central uniform nuclei; variably eosinophilic-to-clear cytoplasm; and well-demarcated cell borders in close proximity to a rich vascular supply showing perivascular fibrosis. Immunohistochemically, both tumors showed diffuse, moderate-to-strong staining for vimentin, muscle-specific actin, and smooth muscle actin. One tumor also showed diffuse strong staining for desmin, whereas the other was negative. Follow-up information obtained from one of the patients revealed that he was alive and well 47 months after surgical resection. Our cases highlight the ubiquitous distribution of glomus tumor and its similar histologic appearance and immunohistochemical profile to soft tissue glomus tumors.