Sclerotic bone lesions in tuberous sclerosis complex: A genotype-phenotype study

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is due to pathogenic variants in TSC1 or TSC2 genes resulting in hyperactivation of the mTOR pathway. Many organ systems can be affected, such as brain, skin, eye, heart, bone, kidney, or lung. Sclerotic bone lesions have been reported as frequent findings in TSC although they are not considered diagnostic criteria. The objective of this study is to characterize sclerotic bone lesions detected by chest CT in a large cohort of adult TSC patients and to correlate with genotype. Chest CT scans of 92 adult patients with a definite clinical diagnosis of TSC were reviewed. Sclerotic bone lesions were found in 82 cases (89%) and affected mainly the posterior vertebral elements. Patients without bone lesions had negative mutational studies of TSC1/TSC2 in 86%. Awareness of these lesions in TSC is important to avoid misdiagnosis with osteoblastic metastases.