Intracranial Myxoid Variant of Angiomatoid Fibrous Histiocytoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is a rare and slow-growing soft tissue lesion that typically arises in the extremities of young patients. Microscopically, AFH is characterized by pseudovascular, blood-filled spaces that are surrounded by a multinodular proliferation of spindle and/or round cells and lymphoid cuffs. However, there is a wide morphological spectrum, including a myxoid variant. Examples with a prominent myxoid matrix are rare and may pose great diagnostic difficulty. Specific gene fusions have been found to play a significant role in AFH tumorigenesis. Gene fusions of Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1 (EWSR1) with members of the cAMP response element-binding protein family (CREB) of transcription factors (CREB1, activating transcription factor 1 (ATF1), and cAMP response element modulator (CREM)) have been described in histopathologically diverse mesenchymal neoplasms such as AFH, hyalinising clear cell carcinomas of salivary glands, primary pulmonary myxoid sarcoma, and clear cell sarcoma. Classically, EWSR1-CREB is known to be the prominent gene fusion in AFH. Recently, a small series of intracranial mesenchymal tumors with EWSR1-CREB family gene fusions has been reported. These tumors seem to show histologic, immunophenotypic, and cytogenic features similar to those observed in the myxoid variant of AFH; therefore, there is a debate on whether these tumors merely represent a variant of AFH or a novel entity. This case report is of a 58-year-old woman presenting with the first episode of generalized seizure due to an extra-axial lesion with homogenous contrast enhancement in the right parietal lobe, which was initially diagnosed as a World Health Organization (WHO) grade I meningioma. Following a series of pathological investigations, the diagnosis of an intracranial myxoid variant of AFH was made. This case report illustrates the need to consider the myxoid variant of intracranial AFH in the differential diagnosis of meningioma-like tumors. A high index of suspicion is required if the meningioma behaves abnormally with a much higher recurrence rate.