Benign soft-tissue lesions of the fingers: radiopathological correlation and clinical considerations

Soft-tissue lesions of the fingers are commonly found in daily clinical practice. A wide range of tumors and pseudotumors have been described in this location, and the majority of them are benign. Ganglion cysts are the most common entity, and the localized type of tenosynovial giant cell tumors are the most frequent solid condition. Both may be easily recognized owing to their typical clinical and radiological characteristics. However, categorization of the spectrum of soft-tissue lesions of the fingers remains limited, despite imaging development, and many patients undergo surgery before radiological or histological diagnosis. Clinical history, radiographic features, and ultrasound and magnetic resonance patterns may help in obtaining the correct diagnosis or reducing the list of differential diagnoses. Radiologists should be familiar with imaging findings so that they can determine the size, extension, and affected neighboring anatomical structures, and provide information that allows adequate presurgical counseling.