Synovial reaction caused by adjacent malignant tumors: anatomicopathological study of three cases

Three patients are described, each having a malignant bone tumor associated with inflammatory episodes in the adjacent joint. Two of these were sarcomas of the lower end of the femur, and one a metastatic carcinoma in the distal end of the radius. Histologically, the synovium exhibited moderate and non-specific signs of inflammation near the malignant tissue. These cases illustrate the possibility of diagnostic error, either clinically or on microscopic examination of small specimens, especially in punch biopsies.