Symptomatic cortical irregularities of the distal femur simulating malignancy

Metaphyseal and Diaphyseal Contours: Variants and Pitfalls

We discuss several variants of the metaphyseal and diaphyseal bone surfaces that may be misleading in clinical practice. They include metaphyseal stripes, spiculated metaphyseal cortex, cortical desmoid, laminated lateral supracondylar ridge, cortical vascular canals, variations in shape or lucency of normal tuberosities, cortical thickening of normal ridges, and well-organized undulated hyperostosis at the proximal phalanges.

Cortical desmoid of the humerus: radiographic and MRI correlation

Cortical desmoids are self-limiting fibro-osseous lesions commonly occurring at the medial supracondylar femur in active adolescents, at either the origin of the medial head of the gastrocnemius or at the insertion of the adductor magnus aponeurosis. Less commonly, in a similar demographic, cortical desmoids may occur in the proximal humerus medially at the insertion of the pectoralis major muscle or laterally at the insertion of the deltoid. The radiographic appearance of the proximal humerus cortical desmoid has been described previously, but not the MRI appearance. We present the radiographic and MRI appearances of a proximal humerus cortical desmoid in a young adolescent who presented for investigation of right shoulder pain.

Cortical desmoids in adolescent top-level athletes

Two adolescent, highly active athletes are presented with unspecific symptoms of anterior knee pain. Conventional radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a suspicious but pathognomonic cortical irregularity of the dorsal, medial femoral condyle. Cortical desmoid is one of the most common incidental osseous findings on conventional radiographs and MRI of the knee. It often needs no follow-up examination in asymptomatic patients. Malignancy needs however to be ruled out.

Distal femoral cortical proliferative irregularity with excavation in a 6-year-old girl

The distal femur is a common site for benign or malignant bone tumors in children or adolescents. Distal femoral cortical irregularities at the posterior aspect of the distal femoral metaphysis must be differentiated from malignant bone tumors because they might be misinterpreted as malignant neoplasm. Plain radiographs of a 6-year-old girl complaining of left knee pain for 4 weeks showed cortical proliferation with excavation on her distal femoral metaphysis. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and bone scan helped to differentiate the cortical irregularity from malignant lesions. Therefore unnecessary invasive surgery was avoided in this patient.

Reactive bone lesions mimicking neoplasms

Reactive lesions of bone and soft tissue can appear alarming on histologic examination because they are often cellular and have atypical (activated) cytologic features, such as distinct nucleoli and mild hyperchromasia, and mitotic activity. Reactive lesions of bone and periosteum also produce bone and cartilage matrix, resulting in confusion with osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma. Careful attention to key cytomorphological features such as the pattern of bone formation, uniform appearance of cells, and absence of atypical mitoses should help identify the reactive nature of a lesion. Correlation with clinical and radiological findings is also imperative to avoid misclassification of the tumor because reactive lesions often arise at sites where osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma are rare (e.g., the hand) and lack aggressive radiological features. In this review we discuss reactive lesions of bone that are commonly confused with malignant neoplasms and that the practicing pathologist is likely to encounter at some point. Several of these lesions have had characteristic chromosomal translocations documented in recent years, but continue to be included as reactive lesions based on their overall clinicopathological features.

Protuberant fibro-osseous lesion of the temporal bone: "Bullough lesion"

Primary tumors of the calvarium are infrequent, and with the exception of osteoma, lesions confined to the surface of the skull are very rare. The differential diagnosis includes benign and malignant matrix forming tumors, other mesenchymal tumors, and reactive lesions. Fibro-osseous lesions are characteristically centered within bone and surface fibro-osseous lesions always prompt consideration of parosteal osteosarcoma, which is rare but well documented in the calvarium. We present 2 cases of a distinctive lesion of the temporal bone intimately related to the occipito-mastoid suture and typically presenting as a retroauricular soft tissue mass with calcific densities, confined to the soft tissues on the outer table of the skull without intraosseous involvement. The lesion is characterized histologically by rounded and ovoid zones of ossification within a bland fibrous stroma. The first 2 cases were documented in 1999 as "Protuberant fibroosseous lesion of the temporal bone.:" We present a further 2 cases, 1 of 2 years duration and the other with a 10-year history. This distinctive entity, which must be distinguished from other fibro-osseous lesions, including subtle low-grade parosteal osteosarcoma, seems to behave in a benign fashion and thus far recurrence is not documented. Local excision seems adequate. The pathologic features in the original report were documented by Prof Peter Bullough. As these cases were recognized by him alone we propose calling this entity "Bullough lesion" or, better still, "Bullough's Bump!"