Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 6, 2021; 9(13): 3063-3069
Published online May 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i13.3063
Intracortical chondroma of the metacarpal bone: A case report
Yuki Yoshida, Ukei Anazawa, Itsuo Watanabe, Hiraku Hotta, Ryoma Aoyama, Satoshi Suzuki, Takeo Nagura
Yuki Yoshida, Ukei Anazawa, Itsuo Watanabe, Hiraku Hotta, Ryoma Aoyama, Satoshi Suzuki, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital, Ichikawa-shi 272-8513, Chiba, Japan
Yuki Yoshida, Satoshi Suzuki, Takeo Nagura, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku 160-8582, Tokyo, Japan
Author contributions: Yoshida Y, Anazawa U and Watanabe I were the patient’s orthopedic surgeons, and they reviewed the literature and contributed to drafting the manuscript; Hotta H, Aoyama R, and Suzuki S reviewed the literature and drafted the manuscript; Anazawa U and Nagura T were responsible for the revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors gave final approval for the version to be submitted.
Informed consent statement: Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in this article.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ukei Anazawa, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital, 5-11-13 Sugano, Ichikawa-shi 272-8513, Chiba, Japan. anazawa@tdc.ac.jp
Received: October 19, 2020
Peer-review started: October 19, 2020
First decision: January 17, 2021
Revised: January 27, 2021
Accepted: March 19, 2021
Article in press: March 19, 2021
Published online: May 6, 2021
Processing time: 185 Days and 3.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Intracortical chondroma of the metacarpal bone which could be painful is an extremely rare condition and previously only one case has been reported. Due to the similar physical features and appearance on clinical imaging, it is difficult to differentiate between intracortical chondroma and osteoid osteoma. Therefore, pathological examination is usually required to establish a definite diagnosis, which is often carried out only after tumor removal. In this study, we describe a case of intracortical chondroma which developed in the metacarpal bone and demonstrate the utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

CASE SUMMARY

We present a case of a 40-year-old man with intracortical chondroma of the metacarpal bone who was strongly suspected of having a tumor, and it was confirmed using contrast-enhanced MRI and successfully treated with curettage. MRI performed before tumor removal revealed signal intensity similar to that of the nidus of an osteoid osteoma. However, no abnormal intensity was observed in the bone or soft tissues surrounding the tumor. Such abnormalities on images would indicate the presence of soft-tissue inflammation, which are characteristics of osteoid osteoma. Furthermore, contrast-enhanced imaging revealed no increased enhancement of the areas surrounding the tumor. This is the first report to describe the contrast-enhanced MRI features of intracortical chondroma. This may serve as a guide for clinicians when intracortical chondroma is suspected.

CONCLUSION

The contrast-enhanced MRI was useful for the differential diagnosis of intracortical chondroma.

Keywords: Chondroma; Metacarpal bone; Tumor; Cartilage; Osteoma; Case report

Core Tip: In the present report, we described a case of intracortical chondroma with pain which developed in the metacarpal bone. Our findings highlight the utility of magnetic resonance imaging for the differential diagnosis of intracortical chondroma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging features of intracortical chondroma. This may serve as a guide for clinicians when intracortical chondroma is suspected.