Desmoplastic Fibroblastoma Invading the Humerus

Abstract

Desmoplastic fibroblastoma (DFB) is an uncommon, benign, soft tissue tumor. The tumor most often presents as a slowly growing, painless soft tissue mass and is usually small. There have been only a few reports of patients with DFB who presented with bone invasion. Herein, we report the case of a 66-year-old woman with DFB with bone invasion in her left axilla. A lump under the left axilla was detected and was associated with pain and limited range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder. Computed tomography showed a soft tissue mass with invasion of the adjacent left humerus. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion with low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images, and weak internal enhancement on postcontrast T1-weighted images with fat suppression. Histologic evaluation of a preoperative needle biopsy revealed DFB with FOSL1 expression. The tumor was marginally excised. Postoperative outpatient follow-up demonstrated a significant improvement in pain and ROM of the shoulder and no recurrence after 1 year. Even though DFB with bone invasion can cause pronounced clinical symptoms with pain and limited ROM, we conclude that simple excision is an adequate treatment.