Chondromyxoid fibroma of frontal bone: a case report and review of the literature

Chondromyxoid fibroma is an unusual benign tumor of cartilaginous tissues that may be confused with other some malign tumors. It is rarely seen in the skull. A 45-year-old female was admitted with painless bony swelling in the forehead. Computerized tomography demonstrated a well-defined expansive lesion with a sclerotic margin measuring approximately 3 cm in diameter in the right frontal bone. On MRI, T1-weighted images revealed a well circumscribed, lobulated and strongly enhancing lesion. On the T2-weighted images, the lesion showed high heterogeneous signal intensity. The patient underwent tumor excision with craniectomy, then acrylic cranioplasty. The histopathological diagnosis was chondromyxoid fibroma. There was no recurrence in a period of 22-months. In conclusion, chondromyxoid fibroma is a benign primary bone tumor that is located extremely rarely in the frontal bone. Accurate initial diagnosis of such tumors are important for appropriate treatment. En block surgical resection of the tumor is the cornerstone of treatment.