Synonyms
Glomangioma; Glomus tumor; Nonchromaffin paraganglioma
Definition
Glomus tumor was first described by Masson in 1924 (Masson 1924). Glomus tumors are thought to represent a rare benign vascular neoplastic proliferation of modified smooth muscle cells originating from preexisting normal glomus cell populations and clinically characterized by paroxysmal pain (Masson 1924). The normal glomus unit is a specialized neuromyoarterial shunt found most often on the hands and fingers; they are characterized by Sucquet–Hoyer canals, which play an important role in thermoregulation, and are concentrated in the fingers and toes. The most common site of glomus tumors is subungual, and 75 % of the lesions occur in the hand. The initiating event for glomus cell proliferation is unknown. Some authors have postulated that trauma induces solitary subungual glomus tumors, although this theory has not been well studied.
Interestingly, while glomus tumors predominate especially in the fingers, they...
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References and Further Reading
Abson, K. G., Koone, M., & Burton, C. S. (1991). Multiple blue papules: Hereditary glomangiomas. Archives of Dermatology, 127(1718–1719), 1721–1722.
Aiba, M., Hirayama, A., & Kuramochi, S. (1988). Glomangiosarcoma in a glomus tumor: An immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study. Cancer, 61, 1467–1471.
Brouillard, P., Ghassibe, M., Penington, A., et al. (2005). I. Four common glomulin mutations cause two thirds of glomuvenous malformations (“familial glomangiomas”): Evidence for a founder effect. Journal of Medical Genetics, 42, e13.
Chou, H. P., Tiu, C. M., Chen, J. D., & Chou, Y. H. (2010). Glomus tumor in the stomach. Abdominal Imaging, 35, 390–392.
Faggioli, F. G., Bertoni, F., Stella, A., Bacchini, P., Mirelli, M., & Gessaroli, M. (1988). Multifocal diffuse glomus tumor: A case report of glomangiomyoma and review of the literature. International Angiology, 7, 281–286.
Fletcher, C. D., Unni, M. K., & Meretens, F. (Eds.). (2002). Pathology and genetics of tumours of the nervous system (World Health Organization of tumours, Vol. 5, pp. 136–137). Lyon: IARC Press.
Folpe, A. L., Fanburg-Smith, J. C., Miettinen, M., & Weiss, S. W. (2001). Atypical and malignant glomus tumors: Analysis of 52 cases, with a proposal for the reclassification of glomus tumors. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 25, 1–12.
Gombos, Z., & Zhang, P. J. (2008). Glomus tumor. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 132, 1448–1452.
Gould, E. P. (1991). Sclerotherapy for multiple glomangiomata. The Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology, 17, 351–352.
Masson, P. (1924). Le glomus neuromyoarterial des regions tactiles et ses tumeurs. Lyon Chirurgical, 21, 257–280.
Mentzel, T., Kutzner, H., Rutten, A., & Hugel, H. (2002). CD34-positive glomus tumor: Clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis of six cases with myxoid stromal changes. Journal of Cutaneous Pathology, 29, 421–425.
Weiss, S. W., & Goldblum, J. R. (2001). Perivascular tumors. In S. W. Weiss & J. R. Goldblum (Eds.), Enzinger and Weiss’s soft tissue tumors (4th ed., pp. 985–1001). St Louis: Mosby.
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Garrido, M.C., Rodríguez-Peralto, J.L. (2016). Glomus Tumor, Dermatological. In: Massi, D. (eds) Dermatopathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30006-1_425
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30006-1_425
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