Benign lipoblastomatosis is a tumor consisting of
fetal
A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...
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embryonal
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ce ...
adipocytes
Adipocytes, also known as lipocytes and fat cells, are the cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat. Adipocytes are derived from mesenchymal stem cells which give rise to adipocytes through adipogenesis. I ...
, frequently confused with a
liposarcoma
Liposarcomas are the most common subtype of soft tissue sarcomas, accounting for at least 20% of all sarcomas in adults. Soft tissue sarcomas are rare neoplasms with over 150 different histological subtypes or forms. Liposarcomas arise from the pr ...
, affecting exclusively infants and young children, with approximately 90% of cases occurring before 3 years of age.
[James, William; Berger, Timothy; Elston, Dirk (2005). ''Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology''. (10th ed.). Saunders. .] The term lipoblastomatosis was first used by Vellios et al. in 1958, at which point the tumor became generally accepted as a distinctive entity. Today Diffuse lipoblastoma is the preferred term for Lipoblastomatosis.
The tumor is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all childhood
neoplasm
A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
,
and it has been found to be more common in males than females.
It often presents as an
asymptomatic
In medicine, any disease is classified asymptomatic if a patient tests as carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms. Whenever a medical condition fails to show noticeable symptoms after a diagnosis it might be considered asy ...
rapidly enlarging mass, occurring more often in the soft tissues of the extremities.
See also
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Myxoid lipoblastoma
Myxoid lipoblastoma is a cutaneous condition characterized by excess mucin. It resembles myxoid liposarcoma
A myxoid liposarcoma is a malignant adipose tissue neoplasm of myxoid appearance histologically.
Myxoid liposarcomas are the second-mos ...
*
List of cutaneous conditions
Many skin conditions affect the human integumentary system—the organ system covering the entire surface of the body and composed of skin, hair, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this system is as a barrier against t ...
References
External links
Dermal and subcutaneous growths
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