Lipoblastoma and Lipoblastomatosis in Infancy and Childhood: Histopathologic, Ultrastructural and Cytogenetic Features

Abstract

Adipose tumors during the first decade of life are infrequent, composing about 6% of all soft tissue neoplasms in children. Lipoblastomas are rare benign tumors occurring in infancy and early childhood and arising from embryonic white fat. The tumors may infiltrate tissue locally and may be of considerable size, but lack the ability to metastasize. The tumor may be an isolated well-encapsulated mass (lipoblastoma, Figure) or lack encapsulation and be locally infiltrative (lipoblastomatosis). Although a benign tumor, lipoblastomas tend to recur, and may resemble myxoid liposarcoma, a malignant tumor.

We report 26 cases of lipoblastoma/lipoblastomatosis over a 15 year period at Texas Children's Hospital. There was a slight female predilection (1.2 F:1.0 M). The most common symptom was a painless mass of increasing size. The trunk (48%), extremities (33%), head and neck (15%), and lung (4%) were the tumor sites.