Desmoid Tumors
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2011) | Viewed by 51982
Special Issue Editor
2 Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Interests: cartilage and arthritic disorders; bone allografting; connective tissue tumor biology and treatment; Gaucher disease and other genetic disorders
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Desmoid tumors arising in the soft tissue of the extremities are uncommon with probably less than 2 case per million population in the United States. The lesions can be aggressive, can recur or appear in multiple body parts, but do not metastasize. They are more frequent in young women; and children may have an aggressive form of the disorder. It is important to note that the lesions may also occur in proximity to the uterus, viscera, colon and even the abdominal wall. Tumors are firm, rubbery to palpation and usually stain with vimentin, alpha actin and desmin. The cellular elements are classically elongated, slender, spindle shaped cells separated by large numbers of collagen fibers. Desmoid tumors may appear aggressive and in the lower extremities can break through the skin or even into the bone. Treatment with surgery is the classic approach but recently radiation and even chemotherapy have been found to be very useful for aggressive lesions.
Henry J. Mankin
Guest Editor
Keywords
- desmoid tumors
- fibroblastoma
- myofibroblastoma
- fibromatosis
- Gardner's disease