Confocal Microscopy Predicts the Risk of Recurrence and Malignant Transformation of Mucocutaneous Neurofibromas in NF-1: An Observational Study

Figure 1

45X. Traditional optical (a) and confocal laser scanning (b) analyses showing well differentiated Schwann cells in a multinodular plexiform neurofibroma and their intense fluorescence. Fields (c) and (d) show a normal nerve as comparison, respectively, in traditional optic and confocal laser scanning. A normal nerve also shows intense fluorescence. However, several features separate a neurofibroma from a normal nerve: an increase in cell density, an increase in the number of mitosis, and an increase in the number of spindle shaped cells, nuclear anomalies, and the presence of cells of a different nature (such as macrophages, mast cells, and histiocytes).

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)