Pediatric Myofibromatosis of the Head and Neck

OBJECTIVES: To examine the clinical and pathological features of pediatric myofibroma of the head and neck and to discuss the challenges in diagnosis and treatment. DESIGN: A retrospective search of pathology department and clinical records to identify patients with myofibroma and a retrospective review of English-language medical publications. SETTING: Academic medical center. PATIENTS: Thirteen pediatric patients (aged from birth to 8 years old) diagnosed as having myofibroma of the head and neck. RESULTS: Nine of 13 patients were cured with conservative surgical excision. Four patients (31%) had recurrence, requiring multiple surgical procedures. One third showed spontaneous regression clinically or by histological examination. The clinical course did not parallel the histological appearance, as high cellularity and mitotic figures were commonplace among the specimens. A misdiagnosis of malignancy was not unusual in this series, as 3 patients had an initial diagnosis of fibrosarcoma, which on review was revised to myofibroma. CONCLUSIONS: Myofibromatosis is a distinct disorder among the great number of fibrous proliferations occurring in infants and children, with a particular predilection for the head and neck region. These lesions should be clearly distinguished from conventional adult-type fibromatoses (desmoid tumors), which are more aggressive. Most patients have solitary lesions that respond well to conservative surgical excision, whereas a few of these lesions behave more aggressively, requiring several surgical procedures for the management of recurrent or persistent tumor. Many of these lesions show spontaneous regression, suggesting that lesions not affecting vital functions, resulting in growth anomalies, or demonstrating rapid aggressive growth may be managed conservatively.