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Persistent Green-Blue Plaque in a Healthy Woman

Educational Objective
Based on this clinical scenario and the accompanying image, understand how to arrive at a correct diagnosis.
1 Credit CME

An otherwise healthy woman in her 30s presented with a painful bruise on her hand that initially appeared a few days after she sustained a twisting injury to the affected hand while participating in acroyoga 2 years before. Since the initial onset, the bruise and pain had persisted despite icing and resting the area. She denied any personal or family history of bleeding disorders.

On examination, an ill-defined indurated blue-green plaque was noted on the dorsum of the left hand (Figure 1). Radiography results showed soft tissue swelling but were otherwise unremarkable. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging showed a heterogeneously fluid hyperintense and T1 heterogeneously hyperintense lesion measuring approximately 1.6 × 0.5 × 2.9 cm that was centered within the dorsal subcutaneous soft tissue of the hand. An excision was performed.

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B. Hemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumor

Diagnosis of hemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumor (HFLT) was confirmed, with pathology results demonstrating mixed fibrous and mature adipose tissue with extensive pigment deposition (Figure 2A). Lesional cells were spindled, ovoid, and epithelioid, with open chromatin, prominent nucleoli, and without mitoses (Figure 2B). A mixed inflammatory infiltrate that included neutrophils, histiocytes, and foamy macrophages was present. Immunohistochemistry results were strongly positive for CD34 (Figure 2C) in the lesional cells but negative for S100, SRY-box transcription factor 10 (SOX10), human melanoma black 45 (HMB45), and Melan-A (not shown).

The HFLT tumor is a rare, slow-growing painful subcutaneous mass characterized by varying proportions of mature adipocytes, spindle cells, and hemosiderin pigment.1 These tumors typically stain positive for CD34 and negative for desmin, smooth muscle actin, keratin, and S100.2 While HFLTs predominantly occur on the foot and ankle, these tumors can also occur elsewhere on the body, including the hand and/or wrist in up to 10% of reported cases.17

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Dekker C. Deacon, MD, PhD, 4A330 School of Medicine, University of Utah, 30 N 1900 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84132 (dekker.deacon@hsc.utah.edu).

Published Online: February 8, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2022.6356

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Deacon is supported by the Melanoma Research Alliance and Dermatology Foundation. No other disclosures were reported.

Additional Contributions: We thank the patient for granting permission to publish this information.

References
1.
Marshall-Taylor  C , Fanburg-Smith  JC .  Hemosiderotic fibrohistiocytic lipomatous lesion: ten cases of a previously undescribed fatty lesion of the foot/ankle.   Mod Pathol. 2000;13(11):1192-1199. doi:10.1038/modpathol.3880221PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
2.
Hosking  AM , Pouldar  D , Elsensohn  A , Kassira  S , Smith  J , de Feraudy  S .  A green-brown plaque on the dorsal hand.   JAAD Case Rep. 2018;5(1):60-62. doi:10.1016/j.jdcr.2018.09.011PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
3.
Moretti  VM , Brooks  JS , Ogilvie  CM .  Case report: hemosiderotic fibrohistiocytic lipomatous lesion: a clinicopathologic characterization.   Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2010;468(10):2808-2813. doi:10.1007/s11999-010-1242-7PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
4.
Hou  W , Li  C , Guo  C ,  et al.  Primary hemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumor in bone: a case report and review of the literature.   Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2018;11(5):2497-2505.PubMedGoogle Scholar
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Antonescu  CR , Zhang  L , Nielsen  GP , Rosenberg  AE , Dal Cin  P , Fletcher  CD .  Consistent t(1;10) with rearrangements of TGFBR3 and MGEA5 in both myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma and hemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumor.   Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2011;50(10):757-764. doi:10.1002/gcc.20897PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
6.
Browne  TJ , Fletcher  CD .  Haemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumour (so-called haemosiderotic fibrohistiocytic lipomatous tumour): analysis of 13 new cases in support of a distinct entity.   Histopathology. 2006;48(4):453-461. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2559.2006.02360.xPubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
7.
Carter  JM , Sukov  WR , Montgomery  E ,  et al.  TGFBR3 and MGEA5 rearrangements in pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumors and the spectrum of related neoplasms.   Am J Surg Pathol. 2014;38(9):1182-1992. doi:10.1097/PAS.0000000000000212PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
8.
Kazakov  DV , Sima  R , Michal  M .  Hemosiderotic fibrohistiocytic lipomatous lesion: clinical correlation with venous stasis.   Virchows Arch. 2005;447(1):103-106. doi:10.1007/s00428-005-1223-5PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
9.
Wettach  GR , Boyd  LJ , Lawce  HJ , Magenis  RE , Mansoor  A .  Cytogenetic analysis of a hemosiderotic fibrolipomatous tumor.   Cancer Genet Cytogenet. 2008;182(2):140-143. doi:10.1016/j.cancergencyto.2008.01.012PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
10.
Pang  CY , Wong  E , Liao  JW , Chan  JKC , Cheuk  W .  “Pauci-hemosiderotic” fibrolipomatous tumor: a mimicker of various lipomatous lesions.   Int J Surg Pathol. 2021;29(1):64-68. doi:10.1177/1066896920930799PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref
AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
  • 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
  • 1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
  • 1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.

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