Intra-abdominal Desmoid Tumour

KKT Lai, YYR Chan, HCE Chan, CWA Chin

Hong Kong J Radiol 2003;6:97-9

A patient with a rapidly growing post-traumatic intra-abdominal desmoid tumour is presented. Although desmoid is classified pathologically as a benign tumour, its infiltrative nature leads to a locally aggressive mass with a high recurrence rate after surgical treatment. In view of its non-specific imaging appearance, pathological examination is required for the correct diagnosis. The major role of imaging examination is to define the extent of the tumour and to detect related complications. Both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are comparable for the assessment of the lesion. However, a high signal on T2WI at magnetic resonance imaging is correlated to a fast growing lesion. Surgical treatment is advocated for this type of tumour.