title: Giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath in the foot and ankle: case series and review of the literature.
abstract: Giant cell tumor of tendon sheath (GCT-TS) in the foot and ankle has been reported as rare. The purpose of the present study was to describe 20 cases of GCT-TS in the foot and ankle treated in the orthopedic department of Huashan Hospital. From January 2007 to January 2012, a retrospective review was performed of 20 cases of GCT-TS in the foot and ankle, all of which were treated by local excision, including both arthroscopy and local excision. The follow-up of all cases was 3 months to 5 years. Of the 20 patients, 14 were female and 6 were male, with a mean age of 38.7 (range 15 to 59) years. Seventeen presented with a painless, solitary, well-defined soft tissue mass with good or poor mobility. Three had discomfort on weightbearing, because the mass was on the plantar aspect of the foot. One patient had neurologic symptoms. A correct preoperative diagnosis was made in only 5 cases. Magnetic resonance imaging proved to be the most useful noninvasive preoperative investigation, because GCT-TS has a characteristic appearance that allows for planned local excision to be performed. Four cases recurred after surgical excision, for a recurrence rate of 20%. After reviewing the published data and comparing them with our results, we concluded that a definite preoperative diagnosis of GCT-TS in the foot and ankle would help in planning the surgical treatment and that complete local excision is probably the only method to prevent recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yijun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jiazhang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000842:Ankle; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005870:Giant Cell Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009372:Neoplasms, Connective Tissue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013710:Tendons