Question about soft lump on the upper thigh?

[wailan]

Hello,
       I am a 31 year old female with a question. I noticed this bulge of skin looks like and feels like a soft lump or little pillow comming from my leg upper thigh almost towards the hip I am not sure how long I have had this but am concerned about this being a tumor. I did go to the dr. and she said well it could be a soft tissue tumor but its not well defined and she said she really couldnt feel anything but did notice the pillow like bulge on the outside. She really didnt say anything more about it so I wanted to get a second opinion or should I see a surgeon. The only thing I have read about these tumors are that they are common on the back, neck, stomach mine is not in these areas. If it is malignant what should I be looking for?

[Kevin Pho, MD]

Hello - thanks for asking your question.

There are many causes of soft tissue masses as you are describing.  Some of the benign (noncancerous) causes include lipoma (a benign tumor that is made up of fat cells), desmoid tumors (usually present as a painless or minimally painful mass with a history of slow growth), or desmoplastic fibroma of bone (a benign tumor of bone has a histological appearance similar to that of desmoid tumor) among others.

You are asking specifically about potentially malignant soft tissue tumors, known as sarcomas - they are significantly more rare than benign soft tissue tumors.  Sarcomas are rare malignant tumors arising from the soft tissues at all body sites.  The current estimate is that there are approximately 10,700 newly diagnosed sarcomas per year in the United States. This represents about 0.83 percent of the 1,284,900 new malignant tumors.

The patient with a soft tissue sarcoma most often presents with a painless lump of a few weeks or months duration. Less commonly, there is pain or symptoms secondary to pressure effects on nerve or bone from an unappreciated mass. Metastases at initial presentation are uncommon.

The anatomic distribution of sarcomas of soft tissues in 4508 patients reviewed by American College of Surgery was:

Thigh, buttock, and groin region — 46 percent
Upper extremity — 13 percent
Head and neck region — 9 percent
Torso region — 18 percent
Retroperitoneal tissues — 13 percent

The definitive way to make the diagnosis would be biopsy.  This decision should be made in conjunction with your personal physician who may want to order imaging studies for further evaluation of the soft tissue mass.  

I strongly suggest followup with your personal physician.

I stress that this answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[surgeon]

lipomas, which are harmless, are typically soft and squishy and mobile. Sometimes they are fairly ill-defined. The malignant variety, liposarcoma, is quite rare, and tend to be firm and rubbery. It's not possible from an online give and take to diagnose such things. It sounds not very worrisome. A surgeon might be more able to settle your mind.

[surgeon]

lipomas, which are harmless, are typically soft and squishy and mobile. Sometimes they are fairly ill-defined. The malignant variety, liposarcoma, is quite rare, and tend to be firm and rubbery. It's not possible from an online give and take to diagnose such things. It sounds not very worrisome. A surgeon might be more able to settle your mind.

[wailan]

To surgeon,
           Thank you I am going to see a surgeon on monday I wanted her to be able to take a look at it.

[Terry90]

A related discussion, I am 53 yr olf female that found a firm but not hard lump that is at the top of my thigh but in the crease of thigh meets body about 2 months ago and no pain. I went to my GP and she said she might want to have a surgeon look at it. I dam inbetween jobs and don't have health insurance for another month. I just noticed that it seem a bit larger. I can cup my hand over it and it looks as though it has gotten longer towards my groin area. was started.

[janis54]

A related discussion, Mass in upper thigh at buttocks was started.