The early clinical presentation of synovial sarcoma.

While synovial sarcoma most commonly presents as a painless mass, occasionally the cancer emerges in a misleading manner resulting in an unfavorable delay or error in diagnosis. A review of the litrature reveals 4 such occult patterns: pretumor phase characterized only by pain or tenderness; the acute inflammatory lesion presenting as a "hot" arthritis or bursitis; the chronic contracture; the post traumatic tumor. These conditions, especially when otherwise unaccounted for, are indications for biopsy. Four avoidable pitfalls in biopsy management also emerged from the review.