Case report

Aggressive juvenile fibromatosis of the paranasal sinuses: case report and brief review

Shaheen E Lakhan¹ , Robert M Eager² and Lindsey Harle²

¹  Executive Director, Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, USA

²  Research Consultant, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, USA

author email corresponding author email

Journal of Hematology & Oncology 2008, 1:3doi:10.1186/1756-8722-1-3

Published:	28 May 2008

Abstract

Desmoid fibromatoses are benign, slow growing fibroblastic neoplasms, arising from musculoaponeurotic stromal elements. Desmoids are characterized by local invasion, with a high rate of local recurrence and a tendency to destroy adjacent structures and organs. Desmoid fibromatoses are rare in children, and though they may occur in the head and neck region, are extremely rare in the paranasal sinuses. Here we report a case of extraabdominal desmoid fibromatosis in a seven-year-old boy involving the sphenoid sinus, one of only six published reports of desmoid fibromatosis of the paranasal sinuses. The expansile soft tissue mass eroded the walls of the sphenoid sinus as well as the posterior ethmoid air cells extending cephalad through the base of the skull. We discuss the clinicopathologic features of this lesion, including structural and ultrastructural characteristics, and we review the literature regarding treatment and outcome.