Soft-tissue chondromas

Abstract

Soft-tissue chondromas are benign, relatively rare lesions. The clinicopathologic and radiologic features in six cases are presented and the literature is reviewed. Five of six cases had calcifications. Peripheral curvilinear calcification was seen in two cases, multiple ringlike areas characteristic of cartilage in one, and discrete ossification in another. Histopathologically, they were diverse, ranging from an immature pattern with a preponderance of chondroblasts to a more mature form with chondrocytes. Although these lesions resemble a wide variety of other soft-tissue lesions, they can usually be differentiated by their small size, characteristic location in the extremities, the nature of their calcifications, and the histopathologic features. The importance of this lesion is that it is benign. It must be distinguished from more aggressive soft-tissue neoplasms such as soft-tissue chondrosarcoma so as to spare the patient unnecessary radical therapy.