Oxytalan fibers--dermal fibromas and giant-cell tendon sheath tumors.

Abstract

A newly identified connective-tissue fiber, in acknowledgement of its resistance to acid hydrolysis, has been named the oxytalan fiber. 1 As previously reported, fibers with this characteristic have been identified particularly in structures subjected to mechanical stress, such as tendons, ligaments, adventitia of blood vessels, epineurium, perineurium, and the connective-tissue sheaths that surround the skin appendages. 2 Although not found in the connective tissue of the normal dermis, 1 they occur as a prominent component of the dermal-epidermal junction in abnormal skin. 3 The search for oxytalan fibers in pathological states so far has been directed to their identification in dental granulomas, radicular cysts, 4 and sclerosing hemangiomas. 5 Oxytalan fibers have now been further investigated in giant-cell tumors of tendon sheath, dermal fibromas, and keloids, all lesions the origin of which is still somewhat controversial. Materials and Methods Our study is based on 20 giant-cell tumors of tendon sheaths,