Desmoid skin tumor: causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

Desmoid tumor of the skin (syn.: abdominal desmoid, muscular-aponeurotic fibromatosis, desmoid fibroma) is a benign tumor that develops from the aponeurosis of muscles.

Desmoid tumor of the skin usually occurs in women who have given birth at the age of 30-50 years, usually after an injury, and is located mainly in the lower abdomen and in the shoulder girdle. It looks like a deep, often single, dense node. With a long existence, it can grow into nearby tissues and organs, destroying them. In these cases, there may be ulceration on the skin. It can occur with Gardner's syndrome.

Pathomorphology of desmoid skin tumor. The tumor consists of fibroblasts producing collagen and arranged in bundles, in places structures resembling aponeurosis arise. As a rule, there are no atypical nuclei and mitoses. Depending on the number of cells, some authors distinguish fibromatous and sarcomatous variants of desmoid. The latter is rich in cells, close to fibrosarcoma, but differs from it mainly in monomorphism, abundance of collagen fibers, rarity of mitoses. There may be areas of mucus or calcification with a tendency to penetrate into the surrounding tissue, especially into muscles with their subsequent destruction.

Histogenesis of desmoid tumor of the skin. Desmoid tumor is considered a true tumor by most authors, although some researchers claim that it is hyperplasia of connective tissue by analogy with a keloid scar. Electron microscopy reveals myofibroblasts, which suggests that the process is based on atypical proliferation of myofibroblasts.

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