Tufted angioma

Tufted angioma is a rare, slow growing, benign, vascular tumour. We describe two young male patients, each with a solitary erythematous plaque on the lateral aspect of the chest. In one case, the cutaneous lesion had been present since birth, in the other the tumour developed at the age of ten. Clinically appearing as a reddish, livid, partly papulous plaque, on histological examination they showed typical features of small, circumscribed, angiomatous lobules, particularly in the reticular layer of the dermis. These lobules were composed of poorly canalized, endothelial-lined vessels and solid regions. Cellular atypia and irregular mitotic figures were not observed. We report on our experience with s.c. interferon alpha treatment, in one case leading to a partial remission. Considering the differential diagnoses of malignant angiomatous tumours such as angiosarcoma or Kaposi's sarcoma, the awareness of the possibility of tufted angioma, which is a benign vascular proliferation, is of paramount importance.