Bilateral extraosseous chondromas of the hand in a patient with chronic renal failure

Extraosseous cartilage tumors of the hand are rare. Histologically they can be distinguished from chondrosarcomas. We report a patient with bilateral extraosseous chondromas of the hand with rapid appearance and growth of this unusual tumor during chronic renal failure. The clinical and histological characteristics of these benign tumors are reviewed, and the possible role of the patient's depressed cellular immunity in the appearance of these chondromas is discussed.