Littoral cell angioma: a case report and review of recent literature

Littoral cell angioma is a rare splenic lesion that was described in 1991. It demonstrates both endothelial and histiocytic differentiation. We present a case of a 55-year-old gentleman with a 3.5 cm splenic lesion found on staging CT scan following excision of a level 1 malignant melanoma. There was no other significant medical history. The main differential diagnoses considered included a splenic haemangioma or metastatic melanoma. Due to the uncertain nature of the lesion, it was surgically excised. The histological and immunohistochemical profile were consistent with a littoral cell angioma. Within the current literature, there are several cases describing patients with synchronous visceral malignancies and lymphomas. There are also rare cases showing malignant potential while most cases were discovered incidentally. A dysfunction in the immune system has been postulated as possible underlying pathogenesis and may explain its association with other cancers. This case occurred in a patient with recently diagnosed melanoma. A possible association with malignancy has yet to be confirmed and further studies are required to determine this.