Editorial
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 21, 2010; 16(23): 2835-2840
Published online Jun 21, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i23.2835
Plexiform angiomyxoid myofibroblastic tumor of the stomach
Yoshihisa Takahashi, Masako Suzuki, Toshio Fukusato
Yoshihisa Takahashi, Toshio Fukusato, Department of Pathology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan
Masako Suzuki, Department of Pathology, Sekishinkai Sayama Hospital, Sayama 350-1323, Japan
Author contributions: Takahashi Y wrote the manuscript; Suzuki M diagnosed the unpublished case; Fukusato T checked and revised the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Yoshihisa Takahashi, MD, Department of Pathology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo 173-8605, Japan. ytakaha-tky@umin.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-3-39641211 Fax: +81-3-39649622
Received: January 16, 2010
Revised: March 10, 2010
Accepted: March 17, 2010
Published online: June 21, 2010
Abstract

Plexiform angiomyxoid myofibroblastic tumor of the stomach is a unique mesenchymal tumor that we first described in 2007. The tumor is very rare, and to date, only 18 cases confirmed by immunohistochemistry have been reported in the literature. The patients’ ages ranged from 7 to 75 years (mean, 43 years), and the male-to-female ratio was approximately 1:1. Representative clinical symptoms are ulceration, associated upper gastrointestinal bleeding (hematemesis), and anemia. The tumors are located at the antrum in all cases, and grossly, the tumor is whitish to brownish or reddish, and forms a lobulated submucosal or transmural mass. Microscopically, the tumor is characterized by a plexiform growth pattern, the proliferation of cytologically bland spindle cells, and a myxoid stroma that is rich in small vessels and positive for Alcian blue stain. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells are positive for α-smooth muscle actin and negative for KIT and CD34. Differential diagnoses include gastrointestinal stromal tumor and other mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Some authors proposed that this tumor should be designated as “plexiform fibromyxoma”, but this designation might cause confusion. The tumor is probably benign and thus far, neither recurrence nor metastasis has been reported.

Keywords: Plexiform angiomyxoid myofibroblastic tumor; Stomach; Gastrointestinal stromal tumor; Plexiform fibromyxoma; Myofibroblast; Fibroblast