title: [Clinicopathological analysis of 14 cases of early stage dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To improve understanding of the clinical and histopathological features of early stage dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans(DFSP).
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical data and histopathological findings of 14 cases of early stage DFSP diagnosed in Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from 2008 to 2014 were retrospectively analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients were mostly young people. The average age of onset was 21 years old. The progress was slow. The initial main manifestations were well-circumscribed atrophic erythema or sclerotic plaque, and subcutaneous nodules appeared gradually based on the erythema. Histopathology showed a small number of tumor cells in the upper dermis, aligned parallel to the epidermis with wavy arrangement, while the tumor cells exhibited typical DFSP changes in the lower dermis and the subcutaneous fat. The tumor cells expressed vimentin and CD34, but not S100 and CD68.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Because the clinical and histological features are atypical, the early stage of DFSP is easily misdiagnosed as various benign diseases. Repeated biopsy and combining clinical features with pathological findings are helpful for diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
authors.forename: Jingshu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
authors.forename: Xiulian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China.
authors.forename: Xuesi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing 210042, China; Email: fangmin5758@aliyun.com.cn.
authors.forename: Jianfang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D018223:Dermatofibrosarcoma; D020405:Dermis; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004817:Epidermis; D006801:Humans; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D014746:Vimentin; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014746:Vimentin