Adamantinoma of the tibia -- a case report and a statistical review of reported cases

A case of adamantinoma of the tibia is reported. A 70-year-old man complained of a painful swelling over the lower front of the right tibia. Roentgenograms showed an oval well-circumscribed, multilocular cystic lesion. Curettage and bond grafting were performed, and 17 months later the patient is in good condition. Microscopically the tumor tissue consisted mainly of epithelial islands with an palisading at the periphery and a loose reticular pattern in the center of the tumor cell nests, showing a close resemblance to the ameloblastoma of the jaw bones. Electron micrographs revealed the epithelial nature of the tumor cells, l.e., a continuous basal lamina, desmosomes and bundles of microfilaments, probable tonofilaments. One hundred fifty six cases of this peculiar primary skeletal bone tumor previously reported in the literature were reviewed and discussed.