title: Hemangioblastoma of the gastrointestinal tract: a first case.
abstract: We present the first documented case of hemangioblastoma located in the left colon. A 75-year-old woman undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer experienced rectal bleeding. Colonoscopy revealed a roundish mass covered with normal mucosa in the sigmoid colon. Endoscopic ultrasound showed an isoechoic lesion originating from the third layer of the intestinal wall; underlying layers were normal. Endoscopic ultrasound features were not suggestive of either cancer or malignant stromal tumor. Left hemicolectomy was subsequently performed due to repeated episodes of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Grossly, a circumscribed submucosal yellowish nodule (13 mm) was observed, which was not attached to any peripheral nerve. Histologically, the lesion was composed of large, atypical cells traversed by a network of blood vessels. Immunohistochemically, the cells showed positivity for inhibin and NSE and weak positivity for S-100. A diagnosis of hemangioblastoma was made. This case highlights that hemangioblastoma of the gastrointestinal tract can also occur.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST), Meldola, Italy. casadeigardini@gmail.com
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casadei Gardini
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pieri
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fusaroli
authors.forename: Devil
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oboldi
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Passardi
authors.forename: Manlio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monti
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rosetti
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Calpona
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valgiusti
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ragazzini
authors.forename: Dino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amadori
authors.forename: Giovanni Luca
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Frassineti
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018325:Hemangioblastoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor