Summary
Solitary mastocytoma (mast cell naevus) of the skin represents a relatively rare dermal tumour. Its occurrence on the lower eyelid is exceptional. We report the case of a 4 month old male infant who exhibited a firm, yellowish nodule (1 cm in maximum diameter) on the lower lid of the right eye from birth. Histologically, the tumour consisted of strongly metachromatic tissue mast cells (TMC) infiltrating the whole dermis, the adjacent subcutaneous tissue and the lid muscle. Since comparable skin lesions in other sites were not observed, a diagnosis of solitary mastocytoma was made. Immunocytological investigations revealed strong reactivity of the TMC to antisera against vimentin, common leucocyte antigen (CLA),α1-antitrypsin (α1-AT) and α1-antichymotrypsin (α1-ACT). A minor proportion of the TMC reacted to antisera against lysozyme and KiB3. Surprisingly, the TMC also reacted to antisera against certain regulatory peptides (RP), namely adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI), leu-enkephalin and met-enkephalin. However, absorption controls revealed that the immunostaining for ACTH and the two enkephalins was non-specific. The immunocytological phenotype of TMC suggests a close relationship to the myeloid-monocytic lineage, but a possible relationship between TMC and the diffuse neuroendocrine system needs further investigation.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Andrade R (1975) Isolated lesion in a ten-month-old girl. Mastocytoma. Mod Probl Paediatr 17:116–118
Baraf CS, Shapiro L (1969) Solitary mastocytoma. Case report in an adult. Arch Dermatol 99:589–590
Barth J, Haustein UF (1978) Bullöses Mastozytom des Säuglings. Dermatol Monatsschr 164:298–301
Burkhardt CG (1982) Benign mastocytomas. Arch Dermatol 118:449
Burnet FM (1977) The probable relationship of some or all mast cells to the T-cell system. Cell Immunol 30:358–360
Bussolati G, Gugliotta P (1983) Nonspecific staining of mast cells by avidin-biotin-peroxidase complexes (ABC). J Histochem Cytochem 31:1419–1421
Dalton R, Chan L, Batten E, Eridani S (1986) Mast cell leukaemia: evidence for bone marrow origin of the pathological clone. Br J Haematol 64:397–406
Forni M, Klatt EC, Shaw ST, Taylor CR, Lukes RJ, Meyer PR (1983) Immunohistochemical characterization of reactive and neoplastic mast cells. Am J Clin Pathol 80:660–665
Giachetti A, Goth A, Said SA (1978) Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in rabbit platelets and rat mast cells. Fed Proc 37:657
Ginsburg H (1983) The in vitro differentiation and culture of normal mast cells from the mouse thymus. Ann NY Acad Sci USA 103:20–39
Grimelius L (1968) A silver nitrate stain for α2 cells in human pancreatic islets. Acta Soc Med Upsalien 73:243–270
Gross P (1934) Urticaria pigmentosa (solitary lesion). Arch Dermatol 29:451
Holmberg L (1970) Solitary mastocytoma. Acta Paediatr Scand 59:558–564
Horny H-P, Parwaresch MR, Lennert K (1985) Bone marrow findings in systemic mastocytosis. Hum Pathol 16:808–814
Horny H-P, Parwaresch MR, Kaiserling E, Müller K, Olbermann M, Mainzer K, Lennert K (1986) Mast cell sarcoma of the larynx. J Clin Pathol 39:596–602
Horny H-P, Reimann O, Kaiserling E (1988) Immunoreactivity of normal and neoplastic human tissue mast cells. Amer J Clin Pathol 89: in press
Hsu S-M, Raine L, Fanger H (1981) Use of avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) in immunoperoxidase techniques: a comparison between ABC and unlabeled antibody (PAP) procedure. J Histochem Cytochem 29:577–580
Kilburn HL (1974) Solitary mastocytoma of infancy. Clin Pediatr 13:60–62
Kitamura Y, Yohoyama M, Matsuda H, Chuo T, Mori KJ (1981) Spleen colony-forming cell as common precursor for tissue mast cells and granulocytes. Nature 291:155–160
Kitamura Y, Kanakura Y, Sonoda S, Asai H, Nakano T (1987) Mutual phenotypic changes between connective tissue type and mucosal mast cells. Int Archs Allergy Appl Immunol 82:244–248
König W, Knöller J, Pfeiffer P, Schönfeld W, Theobald K, Groß-Weege W (1986) Bedeutung der Mastzellen und ihrer Mediatoren für die Auslösung allergischer Erkrankungen. Med Klin 81:575–580, 612–617, 650–655
Lantis SH, Koblenzer PJ (1969) Solitary mast cell tumor. Progression to disseminated urticaria pigmentosa in a negro infant. Arch Dermatol 99:60–63
Leder L-D (1964) Über die selektive fermentcytochemische Darstellung von neutrophilen myeloischen Zellen und Gewebsmastzellen im Paraffinschnitt. Klin Wochenschr 42:553
Lennert K, Schubert JCF (1959) Untersuchungen über die sauren Mucopolysaccharide der Gewebsmastzellen im menschlichen Knochenmark. Frankfurt Z Pathol 69:579–590
Lennert K, Parwaresch MR (1979) Mast cells and mast cell neoplasia: a review. Histopathology 3:349–365
Magana Lozano M (1978) Mastocitoma solitario. Bol Med Hosp Infant Mex 35:823–829
Marom Z, Casale TB (1983) Mast cells and their mediators. Ann Allergy 50:367–370
Motoi M, Stein H, Lennert K (1980) Demonstration of lysozyme, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, alpha 1-antitrypsin, albumin, and transferrin with the immunoperoxidase method in lymph node cells. Virchows Arch (B) 35:73–82
Parwaresch MR (1976) The human blood basophil. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Parwaresch MR, Horny H-P, Lennert K (1985) Tissue mast cells in health and disease. Pathol Res Pract 179:439–461
Polak JM, Van Noorden S (1986) Immunocytochemistry. Modern methods and applications. John Wright, Bristol
Sternberger LA (1979) Immunocytochemistry. 2nd Edition. John Willey, New York
Wesley JR, Vinik AI, O'Dorisio TM, Glaser B, Fink A (1982) A new syndrome of symptomatic cutaneous mastocytoma producing vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. Gastroenterology 82:963–967
Zucker-Franklin D (1980) Ultrastructural evidence for the common origin of human mast cells and basophils. Blood 56:534–540
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scheck, O., Horny, HP., Ruck, P. et al. Solitary mastocytoma of the eyelid. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 412, 31–36 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00750728
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00750728