Lobular capillary hemangioma of the oral mucosa: Clinicopathological study of 43 cases with a special reference to immunohistochemical characterization of the vascular elements

Clinical and histopathological features were investigated in 43 cases of oral lobular capillary hemangiomas (LCH) with a special reference to characteristics of the vascular elements. The lesions affected females more than males by a ratio of 1:1.5. Average age of the patients was 52.7 years. The lesions involved the gingiva (n=15), the tongue (n=13), the labial mucosa (n=10) and other sites. The lesions appeared usually as a pedunculated mass with ulceration; size of the lesions was up to 15 mm. Histologically, a lobular area and an ulcerative area were distinguished. The density of vessels was about 1045/mm(2) and 160/mm(2) in the lobular and ulcerative areas, respectively. The average diameter of the vascular lumen was 9.1+/-5.6 mm (range: 2.8-42.0 mm) and 18.8+/-20.9 mm (range: 5.6-139.7 mm) in the lobular and ulcerative areas, respectively. In the lobular area, most of the vessels had an inner layer of endothelial cells showing positive reaction for von Willebrand factor (vWF) and CD34, as well as an outer layer of mesenchymal cells showing positive reaction for alpha-smooth muscle actin (ASMA). However, in the ulcerative area, there was a variety of types of vessels consisting of various proportions of both endothelial and ASMA-positive perivascular mesenchymal cells. These results indicate that most of the vascular elements in the lobular area resemble more pericapillary microvascular segments than they do capillaries. Thus, the authors propose the term 'lobular pericapillary hemangioma' to represent this type of lesion.