Soft tissue sarcoma: 2 cases of unusual presentation and difficult diagnosis. («The man from Istanbul»: A fairly frequent situation in which a lesion is not recognised due to it occurring in an «unexpected»place)

A tumour with a characteristic morphological appearance occurring in a usual location is easy to diagnose. However, if a tumour is found in an unexpected site and only a small amount of biopsy material is available, it is more difficult to reach a correct diagnosis.Dr Rosai quotes an expression often used by Lauren V. Ackerman to describe such a situation: «the man from Istanbul», ie. a common lesion occurring in the wrong place.Two cases of common soft tissue tumours located in uncommon places are presented: a synovial sarcoma in the mandible and a malignant myoepithelioma (mixed tumour) near the phalangeal joint of the foot. The difficulties of a correct initial diagnosis are discussed. © 2009 Sociedad Española de Anatomía Patológica y Sociedad Española de Citología.