Myxoid neoplasms of bone and soft tissue: a pattern-based approach.

The accurate diagnosis of musculoskeletal neoplasms is difficult but a pattern-based approach combined with ancillary testing has been shown to improve diagnostic accuracy. The pattern-based approach is particularly appropriate for myxoid lesions. The authors reviewed their personal experience of over 3 decades of diagnosing myxoid neoplasms of musculoskeletal lesions. The authors found that myxoid lesions can be accurately classified based on cell type, nuclear atypia, presence of blood vessel fragments, as well as the results of immunohistochemical and molecular testing. Musculoskeletal lesions with a prominence of myxoid or chondroid material in the background can be accurately diagnosed using pattern analysis and ancillary testing. • This paper is a comprehensive description of the cytomorphology of myxoid lesions of the soft tissues. • This paper describes ancillary immunocytochemical and molecular diagnostic features. • This paper discusses the differential diagnoses for each lesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]