Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans arising on the hand

Soft Tissue Tumors of the Hand. 2. Malignant

Soft tissue tumors of the hand arise from skin, subcutaneous tissue, tendons, nerve, and blood vessels. Many of these lesions occur on other parts of the body; however, the hand remains a unique site because these tumors have symptoms, appearances, treatments, and prognoses that may be quite different than when on other parts of the body. Their characteristics and the severity of symptoms vary markedly depending on the exact location, size, and type of tumor-and many of these tumors can have multiple forms of presentation. Two articles are intended to provide an overview of benign (previous article) and malignant tumors (this article) of the hand. The rarer and more deleterious tumors are discussed in detail while the common tumors and epidermal lesions with which practitioners are familiar are briefly overviewed. At the completion of these review articles, participants should be able to identify and diagnose various benign and malignant hand tumors as well as understand the accepted current treatment of these growths.

Acrally occurring dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in children and adults

BACKGROUND

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) arising on the hands and feet is unusual and, at any site, is extremely rare in children.

OBJECTIVE

We report a 5-year-old girl who developed DFSP on her hand at 9 months of age. We review the clinical features and treatment of childhood DFSP and of acrally occurring DFSP at all ages.

CONCLUSION

DFSP in children develops most often on the back (22.2%) and at acral sites (14.8%). It occurs on the hands and feet of children more commonly than in adults. This may be related to the increased frequency of trauma at these sites in children. Mohs micrographic surgery is the treatment of choice for DFSP.

An unusual case of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans

A dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans involving the thumb of a nondominant hand is reported and represents the first case reported in this location. Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a soft tissue neoplasm. It is a slow growing, locally aggressive fibrous tumor that occurs with equal frequency on the chest, abdomen, back, and proximal aspect of the extremities. Only two cases involving the hand are reported in the literature.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: the problems of surgical management

This paper reports the findings of a study of five patients each of whom had a dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. The difficulties encountered in making an accurate clinical diagnosis and ensuring adequate surgical excision of this uncommon skin tumour are discussed. Recommendations are made on methods designed to reduce the high recurrence rate normally associated with this locally aggressive tumour.