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Giant dermatofibroma. A little-known clinical variant of dermatofibroma
L Requena1, M C Fariña, C Fuente
1Department of Dermatology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain.
Background:
Dermatofibroma is a common cutaneous lesion that usually appears as a slow-growing firm dermal nodule.
Objective:
Our purpose was to report the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of eight giant dermatofibromas and review the few cases of this variant of dermatofibroma reported in the literature.
Methods:
All clinical records of two Departments of Dermatology of University Hospitals from the past 5 years with a diagnosis of dermatofibroma were reviewed. Lesions that measured 5 cm or larger were considered for this study. Biopsy specimens were available from all lesions.
Results:
Giant dermatofibromas are most frequently on the legs, especially below the knee. Often they have a pedunculated appearance. Because of their large size, the correct diagnosis is not suspected clinically; a diagnosis of malignancy is often made.
Conclusion:
Our findings indicate that giant dermatofibroma is a distinct but uncommon clinical variant of dermatofibroma that invariably exhibits a benign biologic behavior.