Dermatology: Practical and Conceptual


Image Letter  |  Dermatol Pract Concept 2021;11(1):e2021105 1

Dermatology Practical & Conceptual

Myopericytoma as a Differential Diagnosis of 
Pyogenic Granuloma
Camila Scharf1, Giuseppe Argenziano1

1 Dermatology Unit, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy

Key words:  myopericytoma, pyogenic granuloma, dermoscopy, soft-tissue tumor, myofibroma

Citation: Scharf C, Argenziano G. Myopericytoma as a differential diagnosis of pyogenic granuloma. Dermatol Pract Concept. 
2021;11(1):e2021105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5826/dpc.1101a105

Accepted: June 24, 2020; Published: January 29, 2021

Copyright: ©2021 Scharf and Argenziano. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 
License BY-NC-4.0, which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original 
author and source are credited.

Funding: None.

Competing interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Authorship: Both authors have contributed significantly to this publication.

Corresponding author:  Camila Scharf, MD, MSc, Via Sergio Pasini, 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. Email: camila.scharf@unicampania.it 

Case Presentation

A 46-year-old male first visited the dermatology unit com-

plaining of a fast-growing lesion on the ankle (Figure 1A). 

Dermoscopy initially revealed typical findings pointing to 

pyogenic granuloma with homogeneous white-red areas sur-

rounded by a whitish collarette (Figure 1B). Since the lesion 

was painful and friable, it was excised, and histopathology 

reported a myopericytoma.

Teaching Point

Myopericytoma is a rare, benign, slow-growing soft-tissue 

tumor of perivascular cells. The most common location 

is on the distal extremities, and though the etiology is 

unknown, it has been associated with local trauma.  Histo-

logically, it is characterized by a well-circumscribed, non-

encapsulated proliferation of spindle-shaped cells arranged 

in perivascular concentric rings. Therefore, it can be a 

differential diagnosis for hemangiopericytomas, myofibro-

mas, and glomus tumors. Dermoscopy has been previously 

disclosed unfocused arborizing vessels, structureless light 

brown areas, and shiny white streaks [1,2]. In our case, 

dermoscopy presented homogeneous white-red areas sur-

rounded by a whitish collarette and classic features of 

pyogenic granuloma, which was our first clinical suspicion. 

Dermoscopy training is essential for all practitioners and 

with experience we might banalize a few cases, but we must 

keep in mind that some dermoscopic features may be shared 

by different lesions.

Figure 1. (A) Well-defined lesion, clinically consistent with pyogenic 

granuloma. (B) Dermoscopy showing homogeneous white-red areas 

surrounded by a whitish collarette.

A B



2 Image Letter  |  Dermatol Pract Concept 2021;11(1):e2021105

References

1. Boix-Vilanova J, del Pozo Hernando LJ, Rodrigo Lara H, Cor-

ral-Magaña O. [Distal digital myopericytoma: a dermoscopy 

case study]. Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2020;111(4):338-341. DOI: 

10.1016/j.ad.2018.09.015. PMID: 31627853.

2. Ruiz-Arriaga LF, Ramirez Teran AL, Ortiz-Hidalgo C, et al. 

Myopericytoma in an unusual location. Dermatol Online J. 

2018;24(4):13030/qt5z02t0dk. PMID: 29906007.