ABSTRACT
Hand tumors arise from the skin, subcutaneous tissue, tendons, nerves, blood vessels, and bones, and are of many different types. Most of them are benign but malignant lesions also occur, although only rarely. The authors have encountered 115 cases of tumors of the hand at Seoul National University Hospital between 1975 and 1984 and the following results were obtained; l. In our series of 115 cases of hand tumors (bone tumor; 47 cases, soft tissue tumor; 68 cases), most of them are benign (110 cases, 96%). 2. There are no demonstrable differences in the sex and distribution. 3. Of the bone tumors in the hand, enchondroma is most common (25 cases, 53%), followed by giant cell tumor (9 cases, 19%), and osteochondroma (7 cases, 15%). 4. Of the soft tissue tumors in the hand, ganglion is most common (28 cases, 41%), followed by hemangioma (16 cases, 24%), and xanthoma (8 cases, 12%). 5. Of the treatment modalities of bone tumors in the hand, the most frequent one is curettage and bone graft (26 cases, 53%), followed by excision, and en bloc resection and bone graft (8 cases, 16%, respectively). 6. Of the treatment modalities of soft tissue tumors in the hand, the most frequent one is excision (64 cases, 93%). 7. Although giant cell tumor, hemangioma, and lymphangioma are classified as benign histologically, their clinical course appears to be malignant, because of incomplete excision and recurrence.