Littoral Cell Splenic Angioma

Excerpt

Littoral cell angioma (LCA) is a rare primary splenic hemangioma, which can appear in the red sinus shore cells of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) in the spleen. Falk et al. were the first to describe and name LCA in 1991. Most of the reported cases are that of benign tumors and can present as a single lesion as well as multiple recurrent lesions. The cells express both endothelial as well as histiocytic antigens, a characteristic feature of double differentiation of littoral cells, in contrast to the splenic red pulp cells that only express endothelial markers. The diagnosis of LCA relies on morphology and immunohistochemical studies. Fine needle aspiration cytology can aid in some cases in narrowing the differential before the operative excision of the tumor.