Solitary neurofibroma of the Mesentery: Report of a Case and review of the literature

Neurofibromas of the gastrointestinal tract are usually associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (Nf1), or they are exclusive manifestations of the so-called “familial intestinal neurofibromatosis”. Gastrointestinal neurofibromas can rarely occur as sporadic lesions in the jejunum and stomach, and only exceptionally in the mesentery. A critical review of the literature revealed that only seven cases of solitary neurofibromas (SNFs) of the mesentery (six in the ileal mesentery; one in the gastrocolic mesentery) have been reported in patients without stigmata of Nf1. We report the clinicopathologic features of an additional case of SNF of the ileal mesentery, incidentally found in a patient with an advanced gastric carcinoma. Since there is increasing evidence that some patients may have some features of Nf1, including dermal or nodular SNFs alone - limited to one or more body segments - (segmental Nf1), the possibility that SNFs of the mesentery may also represent a segmental manifestation of Nf1 is postulated.