Soft Tissue Tumor

Soft tissue tumors are a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant lesions that develop from a variety of nonepithelial, extraskeletal elements, including adipose tissue, smooth and skeletal muscle, tendons, cartilage, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, and lymphatic structures. The writing of this article includes various sources originating from scientific journals and government guidelines and related agencies. Source searches were carried out on online portals for journal publications such as Med Scape Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) and the National Centre for Biotechnology Information/NCBI (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), with the keyword “Sensoric Nerve Trauma”. Soft tissue tumors (STT) can be benign or malignant, and benign soft tissue tumors are more common than malignant tumors with a ratio of 100: 1. In a study of 93 cases of soft tissue tumors, it was found that the incidence of benign tumors was 75.2% and malignant tumors were 24.8%. Soft tissue tumors are associated with genetic conditions, radiation, chronic lymphedema, environmental carcinogens, and infections.

First Computed Tomography Evidence of Pulmonary Cavitated Lipoma: Diagnosis and Management

Lipomas are the most common form of benign soft tissue tumors in humans, occurring infrequently in visceral organs. Pulmonary lipomas are seen rarely and can occur such as an endobronchial (80%) or peripheral parenchymal (20%) lesion. Less than 10 cases of lung peripheral lipoma are described in literature, none cavitated. We report the clinical case of a 51-year-old emphysematous smoker man with a peripheral intrapulmonary middle-lobe cavitating lipoma, revealed during a routine chest X-ray for emphysema, subsequently confirmed by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and positron emission tomography (PET)–CT. Some hypotheses are made about the origin of cavitation. Biopsy and surgery were not done due to the fully benign nodular features at imaging. The nodule was unchanged till 2 years, last follow-up with low-dose HRCT. It is probably useful to choose a conservative approach with a follow-up, if there is a high suspicion of benignity.

Extradigital Glomus Tumor of the Forearm Identified During Neuromuscular Ultrasound: A Case Report

Glomus tumors are rare benign soft tissue tumors that arise from the glomus body. They typically develop in the subungual region but may develop extradigitally anywhere, in the upper or lower limbs. Extradigital glomus tumors can be misdiagnosed for years because of their atypical position and presentation. Being aware of an extradigital glomus tumor is important because they can be encountered during imaging studies and may be the cause of the patient’s symptoms. This report presents a case of an extradigital glomus tumor, of the forearm, diagnosed during neuromuscular sonography, in a patient with chronic intractable neuropathic-like pain, along the medial side of the left forearm. Sonographic imaging of the nerves, muscles, and tendons did not reveal any abnormalities. However, meticulous imaging of all tissue layers detected a subcutaneous vascular nodule. Subsequent excision biopsy and histopathologic assessment revealed a glomus tumor. After surgery, the patient experienced dramatic relief of pain. This case report highlights the importance of careful sonographic examination of all the tissues, including skin and subcutaneous tissue layers, to avoid missing non-neuromuscular pathologies that impact patient’s management.

Review of Histology Results of Hand Masses: A South African Audit

Background: Patients with hand masses present for consultation either for pain, loss of function, or cosmetic embarrassment caused by the mass. The majority of hand masses are benign soft tissue tumors. The aim was to review the histology results of hand masses operated on at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital Hand Unit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to explore the relationship of the types of masses according to age, sex, side, and compare the findings with what is in the current literature. Methods: Patients operated on in the hand unit, for hand masses between April 2016 and April 2019 with histology results were included in the study for statistical analysis. Results: There were 64 males and 105 females with a mean age of 41.03 ± 18.81 years. The most frequent masses were ganglion cysts. Females appeared to be more affected than males by the different hand masses, but there were no statistically significant differences. Of the 21 giant cell tumors, 15 occurred on the right hand (p-value = 0.021). Conclusion: The profile of hand masses at a high-volume hand unit in Johannesburg, were comparable to the reported literature. There were no significant differences between sex and diagnosis, however, there was a relationship between diagnosis and side for giant cell tumors of tendon sheaths, requiring further exploration.

Zosteriform cutaneous leiomyoma: a case report

<p class="abstract">Cutaneous leiomyomas are rare, benign soft tissue tumors arising from smooth muscles of the skin and comprise of three distinct subtypes, namely piloleiomyoma, angioleiomyoma and genital leiomyoma. Piloleiomyomas can present as solitary form, multiple disseminated and zosteriform or segmental forms. Cutaneous leiomyomas are rare, of which zosteriform leiomyoma is not commonly encountered. Here we report an uncommon case of Type I zosteriform cutaneous leiomyoma in a middle-aged individual which was confirmed on histopathology. Patient was further started on nifedipine with significant symptomatic improvement. The patient is planned for surgical excision and long-term follow in view of its association with aggressive renal malignancy.</p>

Disseminated intravascular coagulation as a complication of bursitis: angiogenesis and repetitive bleeding as potential factors for disseminated intravascular coagulation: a case report

Background Malignant tumors, such as acute leukemia and solid cancers, frequently cause disseminated intravascular coagulation. However, cases of disseminated intravascular coagulation as a complication of bursitis were not reported previously. Case presentation A 72-year-old Japanese woman was scheduled to undergo resection of a rapidly growing subcutaneous tumor-like lesion on her left back. Preoperative blood tests suggested disseminated intravascular coagulation. The resected lesion was cystic tumor containing a hematoma. After the operation, the patient completely recovered from disseminated intravascular coagulation, indicating that disseminated intravascular coagulation in this case was caused by the tumor. Pathological examination of the resected tumor revealed considerable fibrin deposition and angiogenesis on the cyst wall, which was presumably a response to inflammation and indicated presence of repetitive intratumoral bleeding, subsequently leading to a diagnosis of chronic hemorrhagic bursitis. Conclusions Clinicians should note that, despite being benign, soft-tissue tumors accompanied by inflammation with angiogenesis and repetitive intratumoral bleeding can cause disseminated intravascular coagulation, albeit rarely.

Significance of coagulation and fibrinolysis markers for benign and malignant soft tissue tumors

Background The intimate relationship between coagulation and fibrinolysis in malignant tumors is a well-known phenomena, with the malignant phenotype enhancing coagulation and fibrinolysis. We hypothesized that soft tissue sarcoma (STS) affects the expression of coagulation and fibrinolysis markers, which could be used to distinguish STS from benign soft tissue tumors. We analyzed the correlations between plasma levels of D-dimer (DD), plasmin-α2 plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC), soluble fibrin (SF), and thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) in benign soft tissue tumors and STS to elucidate whether these markers can be used to predict STS. Methods Plasma DD, PIC, SF and TAT levels in primary soft tissue tumors (benign 67, STS 68) were measured before biopsy or treatment. The marker levels were analyzed and compared to various clinicopathological parameters. Results In malignancy (STS), the average DD, PIC and SF levels were significantly higher than in benign tumors. Multivariate logistic analysis of continuous variables indicated that only PIC exhibited a significant difference (OR: 24.5, 95%CI: 3.55–170, p = 0.0012). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis produced area under the curve values for DD: 0.691, PIC: 0.784, SF: 0.734 and TAT: 0.588. Youden’s index was used to establish thresholds of 0.37 (DD), 0.80 (PIC), 0.90 (SF) and 0.82 (TAT). Threshold values for PIC and SF indicated high specificity (0.881, 0.791) and high positive predictive value (0.818, 0.745), respectively. The highest accuracy value among the markers was observed for PIC (0.704). Significant differences in multivariate analysis of binary variables were demonstrated by categorizing low and high groups based on their threshold, PIC (≥0.80) (OR: 3.36, 95%CI: 1.19–9.43, p = 0.0212) and SF (≥0.90) (OR: 2.63, 95%CI: 1.04–6.66, p = 0.0404) . Conclusions Of the coagulation and fibrinolysis markers studied, increased PIC levels were related to STS and over 0.80 PIC was the most suitable for the prediction of STS, which, along with other diagnostic tools, represents a helpful subsidiary tool for the prediction of STS.

Hand tumors: A review of 186 patients at a single institute

Purpose: The spectrum of diagnoses and clinical features of hand tumors differ from those of tumors in other body parts. However, only a few reports have comprehensively referenced the diagnosis and clinical features of hand tumors. This study aimed to elucidate the diagnostic distribution and the clinical features of hand tumors undergone surgery in our institute. Patients and methods: A total of 235 lesions in 186 patients diagnosed with hand tumors between 1978 and 2020 were reviewed. Age at surgery, gender, chief complaint, tumor location, and pathological diagnosis were analyzed. Results: There were 121 benign bone tumors, 98 benign soft tissue tumors, and 16 malignant tumors. Chondroma and tenosynovial giant cell tumor were common benign bone and soft tissue tumors at the proximal phalanx of the ring finger and the palm, respectively. Meanwhile, chondrosarcoma and synovial sarcoma were common malignant tumors at the dorsal part of the hand. Local pain and painless mass were the chief complaints in patients with benign bone and soft tissue tumors, respectively. Most patients with malignant tumors were referred after unplanned resection. When patients were classified into two categories by tumor size according to maximal diameter, tumors larger than 19 mm had a significantly higher risk of malignant ( p = 0.031) despite being smaller than other tumors in different body parts. Conclusion: When a tumor malignancy is suspected, the patient should be referred to a specialist to avoid unplanned resection or delayed diagnosis due to misdiagnosis. Knowing the distribution and clinical features should help in diagnosing hand tumors.

Multiparametric quantitative analysis of tumor perfusion and diffusion with 3T MRI: differentiation between benign and malignant soft tissue tumors

Objective: To evaluate multiparametric MRI for differentiating benign and malignant soft tissue tumors. Methods: This retrospective study included 67 patients (mean age, 55 years; 18–82 years) with 35 benign and 32 malignant soft tissue tumors. Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI)-derived parameters (D, D*, f), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI parameters (Ktrans, Kep, Ve, iAUC) were calculated. Myxoid and non-myxoid soft tissue tumors were divided for subgroup analysis. The parameters were compared between benign and malignant tumors. Results: ADC and D were significantly lower in malignant than benign soft tissue tumors (1170 ± 488 vs 1472 ± 349 µm2/s; 1132 ± 500 vs 1415 ± 374 µm2/s; p < 0.05). Ktrans, Kep, Ve, and iAUC were significantly different between malignant and benign soft tissue tumors (0.209 ± 0.160 vs 0.092 ± 0.067 min−1; 0.737 ± 0.488 vs 0.311 ± 0.230 min−1; 0.32 ± 0.17 vs 0.44 ± 0.28; 0.23 ± 0.14 vs 0.12 ± 0.09, p < 0.05, respectively). ADC (0.752), D (0.742), and Kep (0.817) had high AUCs. Subgroup analysis showed that only Ktrans, and iAUC were significantly different in myxoid tumors, while, ADC, D, Ktrans, Kep, and iAUC were significantly different in non-myxoid tumor for differentiating benign and malignant tumors. D, Kep, and iAUC were the most significant parameters predicting malignant soft tissue tumors. Conclusion: Multiparametric MRI can be useful to differentiate benign and malignant soft tissue tumors using IVIM-DWI and DCE-MRI. Advances in knowledge: 1. Pure tissue diffusion (D), transfer constant (Ktrans), rate constant (Kep), and initial area under time–signal intensity curve (iAUC) can be used to differentiate benign malignant soft tissue tumors. 2. Ktrans and iAUC enable differentiation of benign and malignant myxoid soft tissue tumors.