Cranial Fasciitis in Children: Expanding the Spectrum of USP6 -Associated Clonal Transient Neoplasms

Abstract

Background: Cranial fasciitis (CF) is a benign (myo)fibroblastic proliferation of children. Typical presentation consists of a rapidly growing solitary mass on the temporal or parietal cranium in the first 2 years of age. CF is characterized by a rapid growth followed by a relative slowdown and even growth arrest. The finding of somatic USP6 gene rearrangements demonstrating clonality in CF together with its clinical behavior places it in the category of diseases recently termed “transient neoplasia.”

Methods: Histological, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings of 18 patients with CF were retrospectively studied.

Results: The tumor typically presented as a painless rapidly enlarging mass in the temporal region. Sixty-six percent of the cases harbored USP6 gene rearrangement. Nine patients were treated with gross total resection (GTR) and 9 with subtotal tumor resection (STR). Two patients treated with GTR had recurrence. Five patients treated with STR had progression-free disease for at least 10 months after surgery and in four patients the tumor regressed spontaneously a median 16 months after surgery.

Conclusions: In this largest series to date, we reported the clinicopathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings of 18 pediatric cases of CF with emphasis on the clinical growth pattern of these tumors.