Benign Glandular Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor: A Case Report

The glandular peripheral nerve sheath tumor is a rare variant of nerve sheath neoplasms in which the focally occurring glands are lined by cells showing divergent differentiation. The vast majority of the reported nerve sheath tumors harboring these glands have been malignant. We herein present a case of benign glandular peripheral nerve sheath tumor in a 43-year-old woman who had no evidence of von Recklinghausen's disease. Histologically, the tumor is composed of spindle cell component and collections of glandular component. The glandular component occupied the central two-thirds of the lesion and was lined by a single layer of nonciliated cuboidal or columnar cells. No mitotic figures were recognized in the spindle cell area. This spindle cell area had neurofibroma-like features rather than schwannoma. Many of the spindle cells had positive reaction products for S-l 00 protein. The glandular lining epithelium were positive for cytokeratins (CAM 5.2, AE1/AE3, PKK1) and EMA. Some epithelial cells were immunoreactive for CEA, chromogranin, somatostatin and Leu-7. These immunohistochemical findings support the neuroendocrine differentiation of the epithelial element from the schwannian component.