NEUROFIBROMA

Course overview

NEUROFIBROMAS ARE THE MOST COMMON PERIPHERAL NERVE SHEATH TUMOR AND ARE OFTEN FOUND EITHER BY PATIENTS OR DURING ROUTINE SKIN EXAMS. THESE LESIONS APPEAR AS SOFT, SKIN-COLORED PAPULES OR SMALL SUBCUTANEOUS NODULES. THERE ARE THREE MAIN TYPES OF NEUROFIBROMAS: LOCALIZED, DIFFUSE, AND PLEXIFORM. THE MAJORITY OF NEUROFIBROMAS ARE SPORADICALLY-OCCURRING AND LOCALIZED AND HAVE AN EXTREMELY LOW RISK OF MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION. HOWEVER, THE PLEXIFORM TYPE IS PATHOGNOMONIC FOR NEUROFIBROMATOSIS TYPE 1 AND CARRIES AN INCREASED RISK OF MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF NEUROFIBROMAS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN MANAGING AFFECTED PATIENTS.