Background

Although this disease is classically listed under bone tumors, it is not a true neoplasm. It is a developmental abnormality and is one of the more common tumors occurring in the bone.

INCIDENCE	Dahlin's Bone Tumors 5th Ed. 1996 Study from Mayo Clinic 25% of all benign bone tumors 7% of all biopsied bone tumors
AGE RANGE-MEDIAN	2-3rd decades
SEX (M:F)	Equal

 

LABORATORY/RADIOLOGIC/OTHER TESTS	CHARACTERIZATION
Radiographs	Tumor of flat bones favoring the skull, jawbones, and ribs Long bones very uncommon Well circumscribed with/without a sclerotic rim Hazy ground glass appearance on plain films Not associated with cortical destruction unless associated with a pathologic fracture

 

HISTOLOGICAL TYPES	CHARACTERIZATION
General	Irregularly shaped spicules of woven bone arranged in characteristic "Chinese letters" set in a bland spindle cell stroma Rarely cartilaginous differentiation Mitotic figures are extremely rare
VARIANTS

 

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS	KEY DIFFERENTIATING FEATURES
Low grade central osteosarcoma	Permeation of pre-existing bony trabeculae or marrow fat Destroys cortex and invades soft tissue

 

PROGNOSIS AND TREATMENT	CHARACTERIZATION
Metastasis	Cancer 1994;73:1411-1424 Malignancy has varied from 0.4-6.7% depending upon the series
Treatment	Curettage and bone grafting Lesions in expendable bones may utilize en bloc resection

Pathol Case Rev 2001;6:22-27.

Bone Tumors

Last Updated 2/21/2001

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