title: Microcystic/reticular schwannoma of the esophagus: the first case report and a diagnostic pitfall.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Microcystic/reticular schwannoma is a recently described, rare, distinctive histological variant of schwannoma with a predilection for the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The authors experienced the first case of a microcystic/reticular schwannoma occurring in the esophagus.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 39-year-old male presented for an obstructive sensation during swallowing of several months duration. Endoscopy revealed a bulging mass with intact mucosa at 30 cm from incisors in the esophagus. The mass was excised and gross examination showed it was a well circumscribed, unencapsulated nodule, measuring 3.5×3.2×1.2 cm. On microscopic examination, the tumor showed a vague multinodular appearance with a pushing border and tumor cells arranged in a microcystic and reticular growth pattern with anastomosing and intersecting strands of spindle cells in a myxoid or collagenous/hyalinized stroma. Tumor cells showed diffuse nuclear and cytoplasmic positivity for S100.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors report the first case of microcystic/reticular schwannoma of the esophagus. Microcystic/reticular schwannoma is a distinctive histological variant of schwannoma with a benign clinical course. However, its histological findings are non-specific and may cause diagnostic difficulties. Awareness of this uncommon neoplasm with distinct histologic features is essential to prevent misdiagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea. mjgu@yu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Mi Jin
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Joon Hyuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D004947:Esophagus / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000473:pathology*