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Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(2):213.

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Diagnosis: Fibromatosis

Fibromatosis, or desmoid tumor, which is named for its hard tendonlike appearance, is a rare condition, with an estimated incidence of 2 to 4 cases per million patients per year.^1-2 A hereditary propensity toward abnormal connective tissue repair incited by trauma and growth response to sex steroid hormones has been proposed as a likely cause.³ Approximately 10% to 15% of extra-abdominal desmoid tumors are located in the head and neck region. They are firm, locally invasive, usually well-differentiated overgrowths of fibrous tissue with a tendency to erode bone and soft tissue, putting vital structures in the head and neck area at risk.

Histologically, desmoid tumors are generally unicentric, firm, nonencapsulated, poorly defined masses of gray-white tissue. Microscopic examination reveals benign infiltrating proliferations of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts that lack nuclear or cytoplasmic features of malignancy and have no metastatic potential. The lesions are poorly circumscribed and tend to infiltrate adjacent muscle . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(2):211.
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