Shi Z, Zhao XM, Jiang JM, Li M, Xie LZ. Clinical and imaging features of desmoid tumors of the extremities. World J Clin Cases 2021; 9(29): 8710-8717 [PMID: 34734049 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i29.8710]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Xin-Ming Zhao, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Imaging Diagnosis, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. No. 17 Panjiayuan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100021, China. xinmingzh@sina.com
Research Domain of This Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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/
Zhuo Shi, Xin-Ming Zhao, Jiu-Ming Jiang, Meng Li, Department of Imaging Diagnosis, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
Li-Zhi Xie, GE Healthcare China, Beijing 100176, China
Author contributions: Shi Z and Zhao XM designed this retrospective study, Shi Z, Zhao XM, and Jiang JM wrote this paper; Shi Z, Zhao XM, Jiang JM, Li M, and Xie LZ were responsible for sorting the data.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Cancer Hospital of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Institutional Review Board (Approval No. 20/120-2316).
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
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: Xin-Ming Zhao, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Imaging Diagnosis, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. No. 17 Panjiayuan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100021, China. xinmingzh@sina.com
Received: June 17, 2021 Peer-review started: June 17, 2021 First decision: July 5, 2021 Revised: July 14, 2021 Accepted: August 13, 2021 Article in press: August 13, 2021 Published online: October 16, 2021
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Desmoid fibroma is a rare soft tissue tumor originating from the aponeurosis, fascia, and muscle, and it is also known as aponeurotic fibroma, invasive fibroma, or ligamentous fibroma.
Research motivation
The soft tissue of the extremities is an important location of desmoid fibroma; its pathogenesis has not yet been elucidated.
Research objectives
This study aimed to analyze the data of patients with desmoid fibroma of the extremities from our hospital in order to clarify the clinical and imaging of this disease.
Research methods
We selected 13 patients with desmoid fibroma of the extremities. All patients underwent computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and pathological examination of the lesion.
Research results
Neurovascular tract invasion was present in 30.77% of cases. CT examination showed that the desmoid tumors had a slightly lower density, higher enhancement, and unclear boundary; a CT value < 50 Hu was present in 53.85% of lesions, and the enhancement was uneven in 53.85% of cases. Microscopically, fibroblasts and myofibroblasts were arranged in strands and bundles, without obvious atypia but with occasional karyotyping; cells were surrounded by collagen tissue.
Research conclusions
Desmoid tumors of the extremities have certain imaging features on CT and MRI. The two imaging techniques can be combined to improve the diagnostic accuracy, achieve a comprehensive diagnosis of the disease in the clinical practice, and reduce the risk of missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis.
Research perspectives
Further investigations on larger samples are needed to confirm whether the results of our study are applicable on a broader scale.
