Lipoleiomyoma - A rare tumour of the uterus

Abstract

Background: Lipoleiomyomas are unusual benign neoplasms of the uterus. These tumours generally occur in asymptomatic obese perimenopausal or menopausal women. We report here, six cases of uterine lipoleiomyomas because of its rarity and interesting histogenesis. Objectives : This study was done to analyse the morphological characteristics of lipoleiomyomas. Material : A prospective study of cases diagnosed in the Department of Pathology over a period of three years. Results: Six cases of lipoleiomyomas were identified during the period of study. The age of the patients ranged from 32 to 56 years. The tumours were large, and the sizes ranged from 5.5 to 25 cms in greatest dimension. Five tumours were purely intramural and one case was submucosal. None of the tumours displayed cytological atypia, necrosis, calcification, nor other degenerative changes. Mitotic figures were not seen in any of the cases and none of the tumours had infiltrative margins. Conclusion: Uterine lipoleiomyomas are uncommon benign tumours in gynaecological histopathology specimens. Confirming the benign nature of this tumour is important because it can closely resemble well-differentiated liposarcoma.