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The coexistence of peripheral nerve sheath tumors and vitiligo: more than coincidence?

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Abstract

Neurocristopathies arise from abnormal migration, differentiation, or proliferation of neural crest derivatives, leading to diverse clinical and pathological features. They are classified into dysgenetic or neoplastic, and can affect single or multiple sites (simple versus complex). Examples include congenital melanocytic nevi, neuroblastoma, Hirshsprung’s disease, Waardenburg’s syndrome, neurofibromatosis (NF) 1 and multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) 2A and 2B. We report two cases of peripheral nerve sheath tumors associated with vitiligo and discuss the possible implicated embryologic, genetic and molecular mechanisms. To our knowledge, we also report the first case of de novo malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) associated with vitiligo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Mohamed A. Elsherif & Robert J. Spinner

  2. Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Rachel Y. Miest

Authors
  1. Mohamed A. Elsherif
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  2. Robert J. Spinner
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  3. Rachel Y. Miest
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert J. Spinner.

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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None.

Patient consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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No funding was received for this research

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Comments

This article describes two clinical cases in which vitiligo and a peripheral nerve tumor co-exist; in one case, a malignant peripheral nerve tumor. Malancoytes and Schwann cells are known to share a common embryological pathway involving neural crest cells. That in itself is not terribly compelling or interesting since all cells ultimately arise from a single fertilized cell. However, the authors propose several potential embryological and molecular pathway explanations for how these two condition might result and be related. Although there is no definite cause and effect evidence presented, the discussion is in-depth and very imaginative and I think warrants publication of this paper so that future work may build upon its suggestions.

Michel Kliot

IL, USA

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Elsherif, M.A., Spinner, R.J. & Miest, R.Y. The coexistence of peripheral nerve sheath tumors and vitiligo: more than coincidence?. Acta Neurochir 158, 95–99 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-015-2629-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-015-2629-8

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