The skin and subcutis give rise to an often-bewildering array of soft tissue tumors and pseudotumors. Compounding this problem, common cutaneous neoplasms such as squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma may display entirely spindled forms, closely simulating a variety of mesenchymal tumors. Although immunohistochemistry may be of some assistance in the differential diagnosis of these various lesions, it presents its own set of interpretative challenges. Thus, the pathologist and dermatopathologist approaching a difficult cutaneous spindle cell lesion may be left with very fundamental questions: Is it mesenchymal in origin or a non-mesenchymal simulant? Is it benign or malignant? Is it even a neoplasm? Are there any immunostains that will help me sort this out?

The course will provide an in-depth overview of a variety of relatively common but still challenging spindle cell lesions encountered in the skin and subcutis. The focus of this course will be on the use of traditional morphologic methods. A practical and cost-effective approach to the use of ancillary immunohistochemistry will also be emphasized.

A case study format will be used as a basis for the discussion. This course is appropriate for residents, practicing general surgical pathologists, and dermatopathologists. A limited number of loan glass slide sets will be available for advanced mailing. All registrants will receive a detailed course syllabus at the time of the course and a CD-ROM of the lecture material will be mailed to all registrants after the meeting.

Upon completion of the course, the participants will be able to develop an effective diagnostic approach to cutaneous mesenchymal tumors and non-mesenchymal mimics.