Definition
• Benign cartilaginous tumor
Clinical features
Epidemiology
• Most often in young women
• Usually found in patients with Carney triad, (pulmonary chondroma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and paraganglioma)
Presentation
• Asymptomatic
• Multiple circumscribed lesions with popcorn calcifications on x-ray films
Prognosis and treatment
• Cured with complete excision
Pathology
Histology
• Well-circumscribed parenchymal lesion continuous with bronchial cartilage
• Lobules of eosinophilic spindle and stellate cells in a loose chondromyxoid matrix
• Diffuse patches of calcification
• May be surrounded by reactive bone with marrow
• Lacks other mesenchymal elements and has no respiratory epithelium
Immunopathology/special stains
• Not contributory
Main differential diagnoses
• Hamartoma: lacks continuity with bronchial cartilage; often has other mesenchymal elements, and tumor lobules are separated by clefts lined with respiratory epithelium
• Metastatic chondrosarcoma: has cytological atypia and other features of malignancy
Fig 1 Chondroma. At scanning power, lobules of cartilage can be seen arising from the bronchial cartilage to form an endobronchial chondroma.
Fig 2 Chondroma. Spindle and stellate cells in a chondromyxoid matrix are seen at the periphery of this pulmonary chondroma.
Fig 3 Chondroma. Calcification of cartilage is seen in this high-power photograph of a chondroma.