title: Desmoplastic fibroma of the distal tibia: A case report of a minimally invasive histological diagnosis.
abstract: Desmoplastic fibroma (DF) is a benign, rare fibroblastic intraosseous neoplasm histologically resembling a desmoid soft tissue tumor. Although classified as benign, DF frequently exhibits an aggressive behavior, has a moderate-to-high recurrence rate, and often causes pathological fractures and extensive bone destruction. This case report presents an incidentally detected DF of the tibia, which was diagnosed using a minimally invasive approach. A 36-year-old African female patient was referred to the Department of Diagnostic Imaging of Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS (Reggio Emilia, Italy), to be examined by a computed tomography scan on an outpatient basis, after an x-ray examination of the tibia, which was performed after an injury to exclude the presence of a fracture, revealed a hyperlucency of unknown origin. The aim of this study was to discuss the clinical, histological, immunohistochemical and radiographic characteristics of this rare neoplasm, with a focus on image-guided bone biopsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS, I-42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Levrini
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS, I-42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierpaolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pattacini
keywords: bone; computed tomography-guided biopsy; desmoplastic fibroma