What Is an Angiolipoma?

Angiolipoma is a special type of lipoma formed by mixing mature adipose tissue with abnormally proliferative vascular tissue. More common in the upper limbs and trunk subcutaneously, occasionally in the viscera, intracranial and spinal canal. Tumors are more common in young men. Growth is quite slow and generally does not require treatment and can be surgically removed if necessary.

Basic Information

English name

angiolipoma

Visiting department

Surgery; oncology

Multiple groups

Young male

Common locations

Forearm, waist

Common symptoms

The lesions were of four types: nodular, plaque-like, cord-like, and diffusely infiltrating. Slightly harder than lipomas, fluctuating, 1 ~ 4cm in diameter, pain or tenderness

Causes of Angiolipoma

The etiology is unknown at present, and some scholars believe that the disease is hereditary.

Clinical manifestations of hemangiolipoma

Upper limbs, especially the forearms and waist, are most common. Single or multiple shots, often symmetrically distributed. There are four types of skin lesions: nodular, plaque-like, cord-like, and diffusely infiltrating. The texture is slightly harder than lipomas, it has a fluctuating feeling, and the diameter is 1-4cm, and it has pain or tenderness. Hemangiolipoma that is not deep under the skin can see the bulging blue mass through the skin, and the hemangiolipoma that is deeper is only a bulge. When the tumor grows, it can cause compression symptoms and cause dysfunction.

Angiolipoma examination

Histopathology: The tumor tissue has a clear envelope and is lobulated. The cut surface is yellow, and the edges are reddish due to vascular components. In addition to mature fat cells in the tissue, there are still proliferating capillaries, which grow from the envelope to the center along the connective tissue, endothelial cells proliferate, and the lumen is narrow. Some can only accommodate 1 to 2 red blood cells or completely occlude. There are often fibrous transparent thrombi in the cavity, which is an important feature of diagnosis. Interstitial collagen fibers are often homogenized, stained with magenta, and there is no obvious inflammatory reaction.

Angiolipoma diagnosis

The diagnosis of hemangiolipoma mainly depends on clinical manifestations and pathological examinations, especially the latter, whose characteristic change is that the blood vessels contain cellulose thrombus, which has important diagnostic value.

Differential diagnosis of hemangiolipoma

This disease needs to be distinguished from lipomas and hemangiomas. Skin lesions in patients with lipomas generally do not show tenderness. Under the microscope, there are mainly mature adipocytes. There are not many blood vessels in the tumor and there is very little endothelial proliferation. Hemangiomas have no fluctuation, and there are no fat cells in the tumor tissue. Cellular hemangiolipomas need to be distinguished from Kaposi's sarcoma. Kaposi's sarcoma can also show intracellular capillary thrombosis in the margins of tumors, but without mature fat cells. Multiple hemangiolipomas are clinically difficult to distinguish from neurofibromatosis and require pathological examination.

Angiolipoma treatment

Generally, no treatment is needed. Surgical resection can be performed when there is obvious pain or compression symptoms that affect the function of the body.

Prognosis of hemangiolipoma

Hemangiolipoma is a benign tumor, which usually grows slowly and increases to a certain degree, that is, it stops growing without ulceration and metastasis, and the prognosis is good.