Abstract
An account was given in this study of the clinical and pathological features of 144 consecutive exmaples of tumors of the hand and forearm treated at Showa University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, in a twenty-year period, from 1963-1983. Ganglia have been excluded from consideration in this series. The ratio of males to females was nearly the same, and peak age of incidence was noted in youth. In this series there were 50 cases of bone tumors, including 27 Enchondromas, 9 Exostosis, 3 Bone Cysts and 2 Osteomas ; there were no cases of malignant bone tumors. Among 94 soft tissue tumors, some such as Hemangioma, Neurilemmoma, Lipoma, Glomus Tumor and Giant Cell Tumor, were frequently seeen in the hand. Malignant soft tissue tumors were rare in 8 cases ; 3 Malignant Melanomas, 3 Squamous Cell Carcinomas and 2 Rhabdomyosarcomas. Many of the tumors could be anatomically localized at the finger region, because traumata to this region might be a significant factor in etiology in the earlier stages. The 913 tumors of the hand reported for the past decase in Japan were compared with corresponding statistics published in Western articles and journals. As a result, the majority of reported cases were quite similar to those in Japan ; however, benign nerve tumors and squamous cell carcinomas were more frequent in the West than in Japan.
