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794 https://www.id-press.eu/mjms/index
ID Design Press, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2019 Mar 15; 7(5):794-796.
https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2019.110
eISSN: 1857-9655
Case Report
Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia Successfully
Treated with Cryotherapy
Nina Caca-Biljanovska, Irina Arsovska-Bezhoska
*
Clinic of Dermatology, Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Citation: Caca-Biljanovska N, Arsovska-Bezhoska I.
Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia Successfully
Treated with Cryotherapy. Open Access Maced J Med
Sci. 2019 Mar 15; 7(5):794-796.
https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2019.110
Keywords: Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia;
Histopathology; Therapeutic approach
*Correspondence: Irina Arsovska Bezhoska. Clinic of
Dermatology, Ss Cyril and Methodius University of
Skopje, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. E-mail:
irina.arsovska@yahoo.com
Received: 27-Feb-2019; Revised: 06-Mar-2019;
Accepted: 07-Mar-2019; Online first: 14-Mar-2019
Copyright: © 2019 Nina Caca-Biljanovska, Irina
Arsovska-Bezhoska. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC
BY-NC 4.0)
Funding: This research did not receive any financial
support
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no
competing interests exist
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia is an uncommon, benign, vasoproliferative
cutaneous neoplasm with uncertain origin. It preferably affects middle-aged adults, manifesting as plum-colored
pruritic papules, nodules and plaques, which can persist indefinitely, relapsing over time. Different
response/resistance to various therapeutic modalities and frequent recurrences impose a great therapeutic
dilemma.
CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we present a 77-year-old male patient with a 7-month-history of unrecognized
cutaneous manifestations on his left shoulder and flank. Based on the investigations, the diagnosis of
angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia was established. We applied cryotherapy as a treatment of choice.
The complete regression of the skin lesions and three years disease-free period was achieved.
CONCLUSION: Although surgery is the standard therapeutic approach, the disease recurs despite multiple
surgical attempts. Therefore, we recommend cryotherapy as effective and safe treatment modalities for
angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia. Knowing the recurring nature of this disease, the patients with
angiolymphoid hyperplasia should stay on short-term follow up in order to monitor if new lesions occur.
Introduction
Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia
(ALHE) is a rare, benign vascular disease described
for the first time by Wells and Whimster in 1969 [1]. It
is characterized with prominent vascular proliferation
with lymphocytic and eosinophilic infiltration of the
skin [2]. This vascular tumor was also named
epithelioid hemangioma (EH) by Weiss and Enzinger
in 1982, in order to differentiate the lesion from the
malignant vascular tumor, epithelioid
hemangioendothelioma [3]. ALHE usually occurs in
young to middle aged adults, and it usually affects
women [4]. The most frequent involved sites are head
and neck (face, ear and periauricular), rarely present
in other areas and organs like shoulders, trunk,
extremities, hands, breast, liver, spleen, orbit and
bone [5]. Oral mucosa, conjunctiva and genital area
can also be affected [6].
Clinically, ALHE shows solitary or multiple,
dome-shaped, smooth, erythematous/violaceous
papules/nodules [7]. There are no systemic
symptoms, but sometimes, the lesions may be painful,
pruritic or pulsatile due to its vascular nature [8].
Usually, there is no regional lymphadenopathy or
peripheral eosinophilia, but approximately 20% of
patients with ALHE may show eosinophilia [9]. ALHE
grows slowly and can persist indefinitely [10]. Some
cases clear up spontaneously, without any treatment,
but more often, persistent and recurrent lesions
require medical treatment [11].
We report a case of a male patient with a 7-
months history of cutaneous lesions and histological
characteristics compatible with ALHE. After
cryotherapy, the complete healing of skin lesions was
achieved. He is three years disease-free, without any
recurrence.