Desmoid tumors of the head and neck: Two decades in a single tertiary care unit and review of the literature

Summary

Desmoid tumors (DTs) of the head and neck have typically been classified as extra-abdominal, although the anatomic challenges of the head and neck warrant consideration of these DTs as a special entity. We present a review of DTs and describe our series of five patients with DTs of the head and neck treated within 2 decades. In our series of 5 patients with head and neck DTs, no patient experienced a recurrence during a median follow-up of 47.5 months (range 13 to 150), although all had positive histologic margins. The functional integrity of vital structures over meticulous radicality of the tumor resection must be considered, especially in the head and neck.