[Radiological diagnosis of aggressive fibromatosis]

Aggressive fibromatosis (desmoid, desmoid tumour) resembles, in its infiltrating and destructive growth, a fibrosarcoma, but does not metastasize. Because of its high recurrence rate, the tumour remains a surgical problem. Various imaging methods were evaluated retrospectively in 23 patients with histologically confirmed aggressive fibromatosis. Conventional radiological procedures are poor at demonstrating the extent and type of tumour. Modern tomographic methods are more able to determine the size of the lesion and a combination of angiography and CT can frequently provide a definite diagnosis.