Digital Glomus Tumor: Bibliographic Review of the Studies Published over the Past 10 Years

Abstract

Glomus tumors are a mostly benign neoplasm that constitutes less than 4% of upper-limb soft-tissue tumors. Its unspecific clinical presentation, added to its low frequency, leads to a late diagnosis. The objective of the present study is to update the clinical-paraclinical approach and the surgical technique used in the treatment. We carried out a literature review from 2014 to 2019 on digital glomus tumor in the hand in adult patients using the PubMed search engine. In most of the publications analyzed, the diagnosis was clinical, with a delay of 1 to 10 years. Plain radiography is the most requested study; of the 16 articles reporting its indication, only half evidenced compatible changes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was requested in 15 articles, presenting normal results in 3 of them. The treatment of choice was surgical excision using a transungual approach. Only 4 articles report recurrence after excision. Although there is diversity in the approach to these tumors, we conclude that the diagnosis is clinical, and the treatment surgical, and there is no consensus regarding the paraclinical indication. The information available comes mainly from case reports, publications that contribute to the generation of evidence for the clinical practice in rare diseases such as this one.

Keywords

• glomus tumor
• fingers
• literature review as a topic