Malignant ossifying fibromyxoid tumor of the calvaria: illustrative case

Abstract

BACKGROUND Ossifying fibromyxoid tumor (OFMT) is a rare entity of soft tissue tumor that most commonly occurs in the subcutaneous tissues of trunk or extremities with occasional cases involving the head and neck; however, primary involvement of the skull has not been reported. While historically considered slow-growing benign to intermediate malignant, few cases of atypical or malignant features have been described. OBSERVATIONS Herein, the authors present a case of malignant OFMT with primary skull and transcranial extension. The tumor caused lytic calvarial destruction with intra- and extracranial soft tissue components. Gross total resection was performed, and histopathology revealed malignant OFMT with 40 mitoses per 50 high-power fields and moderate nuclear atypia. LESSONS OFMT can rarely occur in the head and neck and, as reported herein, may involve the skull with intracranial extension. While no uniformly recognized histological criteria for malignancy exist, a three-tiered classification has been proposed: typical, atypical, and malignant, based on features such as hypercellularity, mitotic activity, infiltrative growth, and/or nuclear atypia. Malignant variants should be considered along the high-grade sarcoma spectrum with elevated risk for recurrence or metastatic spread. Routine adjuvant radiotherapy is not typically recommended; however, surveillance imaging is advised.