Giant pelvic angiomyofibroblastoma: case report and literature review

Angiomyofibroblastoma (AMF) is a rare, benign, soft-tissue tumor, which predominantly occurs in the vulvovaginal region of middle-aged women. It is clinically important to distinguish an AMF from other stromal cell lesions. Here, we report the case of a 32-year-old woman with a rare, giant pelvic AMF, which showed a benign clinical course. The tumor was located in the cul-de-sac of Douglas. It was well demarcated, hypocellular, edematous and composed of spindle-shaped and oval stromal cells aggregating around thin-walled blood vessels. The tumor cells had abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, and expressed estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and desmin. Mitotic figures were absent. It is important to distinguish AMFs from aggressive angiomyxomas because both occur at similar sites but show different clinical behaviors. Most AMFs and aggressive angiomyxomas have the same immunohistochemical phenotype. The well-circumscribed borders of AMF are the most important characteristic that distinguish it from aggressive angiomyxomas. AMFs rarely recur after complete surgical excision.