Infantile Haemangioma
Pronunciation: in-FAN-tyle hee-MAN-jee-OH-mah
Also written as: IH — Infantile Haemangioma
The most common benign vascular tumour of infancy, characterised by a postnatal proliferative phase followed by spontaneous involution, and distinguished from vascular malformations.
Full Definition
Infantile haemangioma (IH) is a true vascular neoplasm arising in the postnatal period, typically appearing within the first weeks of life and undergoing rapid proliferation before involuting over several years. It is immunohistochemically characterised by strong positivity for GLUT1 (glucose transporter 1), which is the single most important marker distinguishing IH from other vascular lesions. Three clinical subtypes are recognised: superficial (formerly 'strawberry naevus'), deep (formerly 'cavernous haemangioma'), and mixed. The term 'strawberry haemangioma' and 'cavernous haemangioma' are now deprecated; editors should replace these with the appropriate ISSVA (International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies) nomenclature. Propranolol is the mainstay of pharmacological treatment for complicated lesions.
Usage
Usage note: 'Strawberry haemangioma,' 'strawberry naevus,' and 'cavernous haemangioma' are deprecated terms; replace with ISSVA-compliant terminology specifying subtype.
In Context
- "Biopsy of the rapidly enlarging facial lesion confirmed infantile haemangioma on the basis of diffuse GLUT1 immunopositivity." — Paediatric dermatopathology report
- "The manuscript used 'strawberry haemangioma' throughout; per ISSVA guidelines, this should be updated to 'infantile haemangioma' with 'superficial' subtype specified." — Editorial revision note