title: Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the forearm: report of a case and review of the literature.
abstract: The tissue histiocyte can give rise to a variety of lesions, either benign or malignant, and the latter often is confused with other sarcomas. The multipotential nature of the histiocyte results in the presence of at least five different cell types in these tumors, and all may be derived from a common precursor cell. The anaplasia of elements which differentiate as fibroblasts appears to correlate with survival. The tumors may be highly malignant, and the 10 year survival rate approximates 40%. Aggressive surgical management of these tumors is mandatory, with either wide en bloc resection or primary amputation of the involved extremity. Should the tumor recur locally after a wide resection and there be no detectable metastases, prompt amputation is indicated.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000601:surgery; D018219:Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous