Upper Extremity Glomus Tumors: A Two-Decade Clinicopathologic Analysis of 56 Patients
Abstract
Objectives: To define the clinicopathologic spectrum of histologically confirmed glomus tumors of the upper extremity over a 20-year archival period, and to compare digital and extradigital lesions.
Materials and Methods: The pathology archive of a single tertiary university hospital was searched for the term “glomus” for the period 2005–2025. Adults aged 18 years or older with a histopathologic diagnosis of solid glomus tumor at a documented upper-extremity site were included. Glomuvenous malformation, head and neck paragangliomas, lower-extremity, truncal, and visceral lesions, and re-excision material were excluded. Records whose anatomic site was not stated in the pathology report were verified against hospital discharge summaries, which were also reviewed for clinical, radiologic, and operative variables. Digital and extradigital groups were compared using Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test.
Results: Fifty-six patients were included. The derived mean age at diagnosis was 45.9 ± 12.7 years and 43 patients (76.8%) were women. Forty-five tumors (80.4%) were digital and 11 (19.6%) were extradigital. Women accounted for 38 of 45 digital tumors(84.4%), compared with 5 of 11 extradigital tumors (45.5%) (p = 0.013; odds ratio 6.51). Women were diagnosed at a younger age than men (median 42 versus 59 years; p = 0.002). Where symptom duration was recorded (n = 15), the median was 66 months. Five patients had been given an alternative preoperative diagnosis. None of the included tumors were malignant.
Conclusion: Upper-extremity glomus tumors were predominantly digital and occurred mainly in females, but extradigital disease showed a balanced sex distribution and was frequently misdiagnosed. Diagnostic delay continued to be measured in years.
Keywords
Glomus Tumor, Hand, Upper Extremity, Subungual, Delayed diagnosis
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