Multiple hereditary exostoses. An epidemiologic study of an isolated community in Manitoba

From 1986 through 1988, 266 persons (149 adults and 117 children) were screened for multiple hereditary exostosis (MHE) in an isolated northern Ojibway community. Physical examination and confirmation by roentgenogram skeletal survey disclosed 21 children (19.4%) and 14 adults (9.5%) affected with MHE. Forty-one percent of children had lesions detectable before ten years of age, some as early as two years of age. Seventy-four percent of the lesions were characteristically sessile. Although lesions about the knee were most common, sites previously thought to be uncommon such as the metatarsals, hand, and spine were involved in 40% of the children. No cases of malignant degeneration have occurred in the adult population. Severity and multiplicity of lesions in successive generations point to an oncogenic gene origin. This study shows striking variance from current literature and provides a unique and valuable baseline assessment of research on the cause and natural history of MHE.