[The morphological characteristics of desmoplastic fibroblastoma]

To study the clinical and pathological characteristics of desmoplastic fibroblastoma.

Three cases of desmoplastic fibroblastoma were evaluated by light microscopy and immunohistochemistry.

The patients were all adults, 2 males and 1 female, age range 46 - 62 years (mean 53 years). Clinically, the tumors presented as slowly growing painless masses, which were located in the deep soft tissue of the lower extremity, the subcutaneous tissue of the forearm and the ankle respectively. Grossly, they were well-circumscribed neoplasms with a firm consistency. Histologically, the tumors were composed of paucicellular spindle or stellate-shaped fibroblastic cells embedded in a densely fibrous or fibromyxoid stroma. The neoplastic fibroblastic cells resembled the reactive fibroblasts by containing fine chromatin and small distinct nucleoli without cellular atypia or mitotic figures. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells showed diffuse and strong immunoreactivity for vimentin, focal staining for alpha-SMA, MSA and desmin.

Desmoplastic fibroblastoma is a benign fibroblastic neoplasm with distinctive clinical and pathological characteristics. It should be differentiated from a variety of reactive or low-grade fibroblastic lesions.