title: Desmoid tumors of the anterior abdominal wall: results from a monocentric surgical experience and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Desmoid tumor, also known as aggressive fibromatosis, is a rare soft tissue tumor. For those cases localized in the anterior abdominal wall, radical resection and reconstruction with a mesh is indicated. Because the rarity of the disease, randomized trials are lacking, but in reported retrospective series, it is clear that although it is considered a benign lesion, local recurrence is not uncommon.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the records of 14 consecutive patients (3 men, 11 women, mean age 36 years, range 25-51 years) with desmoid tumor of the anterior abdominal wall treated at the European Institute of Oncology. The surgical strategy was the same in all cases: wide surgical excision and immediate plastic reconstruction with mesh after intraoperative confirmation by frozen sections of disease-free margins of >1 cm. We considered long-term outcomes by using the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 as an instrument to evaluate the overall quality of the treatment delivered to these patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No immediate postoperative complication was registered, and no patient developed recurrence after a median follow-up period of 55 months. Two women experienced mesh bulging within 1 year after the operation. The long-term mean global health status registered was 97 out of 100.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Radical resection aided by intraoperative margin evaluation via frozen sections followed by immediate mesh reconstruction is a safe procedure and can provide definitive cure without functional limitations for patients with desmoid tumors of the anterior abdominal wall.
authors.affiliation: European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy. emilio.bertani@ieo.it
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bertani
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiappa
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Testori
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzarol
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Biffi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martella
authors.forename: Ugo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Pace
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soteldo
authors.forename: Paolo Della
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Vigna
authors.forename: Rosalba
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lembo
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Andreoni
mesh_terms: D034861:Abdominal Wall; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D018222:Desmoid Tumors / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013526:Surgical Mesh