Glomus tumor of the back: a rare location.

Abstract

A 44-year-old man presented with a 5-year history of localized pain on his back, and a 1.5-cm round, touch-induced painful mass was palpated. A subsequent diagnostic evaluation revealed the presence of a glomus tumor. Glomus tumors are rare, benign, small vascular tumors, which originate from glomus bodies present in the reticular dermis. Glomus tumors constitute less than 2.0% of all primary soft tissue tumors, approximately 80% of the lesions are located in the upper extremity, and more than 75% are subungually located. However, many locations have been reported in the literature. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, this glomus tumor that occurred on the back is very rare.