Radiographic and histologic patterns of calcification in chondromyxoid fibroma

Abstract 

Objective. To evaluate the frequency of radiologic and histologic manifestations of matrix calcification in chondromyxoid fibromas. Patients. Forty-four cases of chondromyxoid fibroma were reviewed. The age range of the patients was 3–70 years (average 29 years). Results. Calcification was found microscopically in 15 cases (34.1%). In five cases (12.5%) it was demonstrated on plain films or CT. The age range of the patients with microscopic evidence of calcified matrix was 14–70 years (mean 46 years), while that of the patients with non-calcified lesions was 3–59 years (average 21 years). All but two of the patients who showed microscopic calcification in the tumors were over 40 years of age. Four microscopic patterns of calcification were observed: coarse granular, circumscribed, trabecular, and “chicken-wire.”

Conclusions. Calcification in chondromyxoid fibroma was found more frequently than in previously reported studies. There was a tendency for this phenomenon to occur in the tumors of older patients, particularly those over 40 years old, and in chondromyxoid fibromas situated in flat bones, including ribs.