Evidence Hub

Ossifying pyogenic granuloma: A rare variant usually not recognized

Dermawan JK, Kilpatrick SE

Journal of cutaneous pathology, 2021

Abstract

Pyogenic granuloma (PG) represents a polypoid and lobular, capillary lesion, resembling granulation tissue, usually occurring on skin or mucosal surfaces. The occurrence of metaplastic ossification is extremely rare in PG. We present three cases of PG with metaplastic ossification. All three patients were men, aged 18-66 years. In all cases, the lesions occurred on the digits, particularly in or around the nail bed. Histopathologically, these superficial dermal-based tumors were characterized by classic features of PG, namely circumscribed, exophytic to polypoid proliferations of capillary-sized blood vessels in a lobular arrangement. The characteristic vascular component also was intimately associated with spicules and trabeculae of metaplastic bone formation rimmed by osteoblasts and osteoclasts. This osseous component was diffusely distributed in two cases and more localized in another. We speculate that ossification in PGs possibly represents a reactive process in response to chronic injury. We believe that ossifying PG is likely under-recognized and often mistaken for other entities also arising in the extremities and characterized by osseous metaplasia.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a case report, done in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free