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. 2011 Mar;45(1):59-63.
doi: 10.2478/v10019-010-0051-7. Epub 2010 Nov 25.

Mesenteric fibromatosis with intestinal involvement mimicking a gastrointestinal stromal tumour

Marek Wronski  1 , Bogna Ziarkiewicz-Wroblewska, Maciej Slodkowski, Wlodzimierz Cebulski, Barbara Gornicka, Ireneusz W Krasnodebski
Affiliations

Mesenteric fibromatosis with intestinal involvement mimicking a gastrointestinal stromal tumour

Marek Wronski et al. Radiol Oncol. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Mesenteric fibromatosis or intra-abdominal desmoid tumour is a rare proliferative disease affecting the mesentery. It is a locally aggressive tumour that lacks metastatic potential, but the local recurrence is common. Mesenteric fibromatosis with the intestinal involvement can be easily confused with other primary gastrointestinal tumours, especially with that of the mesenchymal origin.

Case report: We report a case of a 44-year-old female who presented with an abdominal mass that radiologically and pathologically mimicked a gastrointestinal stromal tumour.

Conclusions: The diagnosis of mesenteric fibromatosis should always be considered in the case of mesenchymal tumours apparently originating from the bowel wall that diffusely infiltrate the mesentery.

Keywords: GIST; desmoid tumour; differential diagnosis; gastrointestinal stromal tumour; mesenteric fibromatosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Figures

FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1.
The sonographic appearance of an intra-abdominal desmoid with involvement of the small bowel: a well-defined grossly homogenous hypoechoic mass circumferentially encroaching the intestinal wall; the hyperechoic central part of the tumour corresponds to intraluminal air that results in posterior acoustic shadowing (arrows).
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 2.
CT scan shows the desmoid tumour of the mesentery infiltrating the small bowel: a well-defined hypodense and homogenous mass diffusely attached to the bowel wall.
FIGURE 3.
FIGURE 3.
Macroscopic view of the resected specimen: A - a mesenteric mass encroaching the bowell wall, B – cut surface of the desmoid tumour showing grayish and glistening, homogenous desmoid tumour. A tubercule attached to the bowel serosa and mimicking peritoneal tumour deposits proved to be a mesothelial cyst (arrow).
FIGURE 4.
FIGURE 4.
Microscopic view of mesenteric fibromatosis: immunostaining for beta-catenin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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