Abstract

A 4-year-old boy visited our division in October, 1991, with a nodule. His mother noticed a rice-sized nodule on his left elbow 2 years ago. The papule had gradually grown to be a pea-sized nodule. He had been treated with cryotherapy for 2 months by a doctor before he visited our division. The nodule was a 10×12×4mm sized, dome-shaped, hard, skin-colored tumor with crust on the top of it. We clinically diagnosed it as dermatofibroma or follicular tumor and excised it totally. The histological diagnosis was dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. The tumor was composed of spindle-shaped cells with large, slightly atypical and spindle-shaped nuclei. The tumor cells were arranged in a storif orm pattern. They invaded the epidermis and caused ulceration in the center portion. He was re-operated upon and has been disease-free for 8 months.