European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Vol 11, 384-386, Copyright © 1997 by European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
Desmoid tumor of the sternum presenting as an anterior mediastinal mass
E Saw, GS Yu and M Mell
Department of Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Hayward, CA 94545-4297, USA.
A 20-year-old man with a large, asymptomatic mediastinal mass was found to
have desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF) by needle biopsy. The tumor arose from
the internal periosteum of the sternum and mimicked an anterior mediastinal
mass. A wide resection of the sternum, including portions of the clavicles
and costal cartilages, and reconstruction with a Gore-Tex soft tissue patch
were performed. Although extremely rare, desmoid tumor of the sternum
should be considered in the differential diagnosis of anterior mediastinal
tumors.