Abstract
An 79-year-old man noticed a small nodule on his left postauricular area about 3 years ago. It gradually became a fist-sized tumor. The surface was red and ulcerated. In addition, there had been brown tumors on both scapular areas since his childhood. Moreover, his parents had similar tumors. Histopathological findings revealed an eosinophilic nodule throughout the dermis. The nodule consisted of fibroblasts, and collagen fibers arranged parallel to the surface epidermis. Partially, a loose storiform pattern was seen. Capillary vessels proliferated perpendicular to the collagen fibers. There was nonspecific inflammation below the ulcer and hyalinization of collagen bundles in places. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the proliferating cells were fibroblasts. Almost all the cells were positive for vimentin, and negative for desmin, CD34, and S-100 protein. α-SMA was partially positive. Elastica-van-Gieson staining demonstrated the presence of collagen fibers. We diagnosed this case as keloid. The tumor size has not changed in spite of no particular treatment. [Skin Cancer (Japan) 2007; 22: 252-255]
