Acquired Progressive Lymphangioma as a Flat Erythematous Patch on the Abdominal Wall of a Child

Abstract

An erythematous patch was noted on the abdominal wall of an 8-year-old boy. The lesion showed a prolonged initial clinical course, followed by rapid later growth, finally reaching 3.7 X 7.0 cm in size over four years. Despite the harmless clinical appearance, the lesion was histologically characterized by tortuous vascular channels with some cellular atypia. Immunoperoxidase staining disclosed no factor VIII-related antigen or reaction to Ulex europaeus I lectin on tumor cells. There has been no recurrence three years after local excision. Although many features in our case resemble those reported in the literature under the term low-grade angiosarcoma, our preferred designation for such cases is acquired progressive lymphangioma, rather than angiosarcoma, because of their benign behavior.