Information for Patients

From the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Imaging of Soft-Tissue Tumors

by Joel Mayerson, MD; Albert J. Aboulafia, MD

Many hundreds of thousands of benign soft-tissue masses are encountered each year in this country by physicians in many different medical specialties. Malignant soft-tissue masses of the extremities and pelvis, sarcomas, are extremely rare; however, with the ratio between benign and malignant lesions thought to be approximately 100:1. Approximately 7,500 soft-tissue sarcomas are diagnosed each year in the United States.

This article reviews the presentation and identification of many benign and malignant soft-tissue masses, including lipomas, hemangiomas, pigmented villonodular synovitis, desmoid tumors, cysts, hematomas, intramuscular myxomas, and myositis ossificans.

Keywords: cancer, cancerous, benign, malignant, lipoma, hemangioma, pigmented villonodular synovitis, desmoid tumor, cyst, hematoma, intramuscular myxoma, myositis ossificans, clinical characteristics, radiologic characteristics, imaging modalities, diagnosis, differential diagnosis

If you are an AAOS Member or an OKO subscriber, you can view this topic after log in.

If you are a health care professional who is not an AAOS Member or OKO subscriber, you can get more information about subscribing here. Information for patients and the general public can be accessed through the links in the gray box above.

Back to Menu