Are hard fibroids and fibroids the same thing?

  Fibromas are composed of well-differentiated subcutaneous connective tissues, mostly occurring in adults aged 40-50. It is a benign tumor composed of well-differentiated subcutaneous connective tissue and rarely becomes malignant. It is mostly found under the skin and grows slowly. It is usually small, with clear margins, smooth surface, hard texture and can be pushed. If mixed with other components, it becomes fibromyoma, fibroadenoma, fibrolipoma and so on. Depending on the age of onset and location, they mainly include juvenile fibromatosis, cervical fibromatosis, infantile fibromatosis, infantile myofibromatosis, and lipofibromatosis. The age of onset is mostly between 30 and 50 years old, but children and adolescents are also not uncommon. The tumor can occur in any part of the large muscles of the body, but the rectus abdominis muscle of the abdominal wall and the tendon membrane of the adjacent muscles are the most common, and it occurs during pregnancy and late pregnancy. It is most common in the rectus abdominis muscle of the abdominal wall and its adjacent muscles.  Sclerofibroma, also known as a ligament-like tumor, is a rare benign overgrowth of the tendon membrane, with an estimated 3.7 new cases per year in a population of one million. It occurs in the muscles, tendon membranes and deep fascia, etc. and is very hard. Histologically it is a benign tumor, but is locally aggressive and without an envelope. It may become a fibrosarcoma. To the naked eye, the swelling is irregular in shape, grayish in cut and in an interlaced weave. The texture is hard like rubber. Microscopically, the tumor is composed of abundant collagen fibers and very few fibroblasts arranged in parallel; there is no cellular anisotropy and nuclear division phase, and small islands of rhabdomyosarcoma surrounded by tumor tissue are often seen at the edge of the tumor.  The clinical and imaging manifestations of sclerofibroma: This disease can occur in all parts of the body, mostly in the abdominal wall, but also in the abdomen and skeletal muscle. 25 cases of sclerofibroma were reported by Einstein, of which 50% were located in the abdominal wall, 41% in the mesentery and 9% in the retroperitoneum. In China, Chen Juan et al. reported one case of sclerofibroma located in the abdominal wall, while Chi Kling et al. reported one case located in the lower end of the sternum encircling the sternum. Sclerofibroma mostly occurs between 30 and 50 years old, and is more common in women. It can also be seen in adolescents.  The etiology of this disease is unknown and may be related to trauma, pregnancy, surgery and systemic connective tissue abnormalities. Elevated estrogen in the blood during pregnancy, combined with the possibility of abdominal wall damage during delivery, may explain the prevalence of hard fibroids in adult women. Sclerofibroma can also be part of Gardner’s syndrome consisting of multiple polyps of the rectum, osteomas, skin cysts and sclerofibromas, the latter of which tend to have a genetic family history.  Clinical manifestations: Those occurring in the abdominal wall present as painless abdominal wall masses that are hard, non-compressive and slow growing. In most patients, the tumor can be detected when it reaches several centimeters in diameter; in a few cases with delayed treatment, the tumor grows in a patchy infiltrative pattern in all directions, causing a large area of abdominal wall stiffness. If the tumor occurs in other areas, it can cause corresponding compression symptoms and functional impairment.  The imaging manifestation of sclerofibrosarcoma lacks specificity. On CT, most of them appear as well-defined, uniformly dense soft tissue masses with equal or slightly hypodense muscle, with no calcification or cystic changes. However, a few of them have unclear borders and are infiltrative. On enhancement scan, most of them are isointense or hyperdense compared with muscle, and a few are hypointense. Most of them are homogeneous, and about 1/3 of them are circular or streak-like enhancement with low center and high edge. In this paper, case 1 showed small lamellar shadow similar to muscle density within the tumor on plain scan, and its CT value still resembled muscle tissue on enhancement scan, which was presumed to be a small island of muscle surrounded by the tumor within the tumor. Whether this contributes to the diagnosis of the disease needs to be further confirmed by a large number of cases.  Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of sclerofibroma Preoperative diagnosis is difficult because of the atypical clinical and imaging presentation of sclerofibroma. Combining our cases and reviewing the literature, we believe that sclerofibroma occurring in the abdominal wall has certain characteristics. Benign tumors of the abdominal wall include sclerofibroma, neurofibroma and lipoma. Malignant lymphomas, soft tissue sarcomas and metastases are common. Lipoma has a typical CT presentation and does not require differentiation. Instead, hard fibromas and neurofibromas can be distinguished with the help of MRI. Although hard fibromas are locally aggressive, most of them appear as well-defined soft tissue masses on CT, which are different from typical malignant tumors with infiltrative growth and can be distinguished by combining with clinical manifestations.