ReviewCureus2026
Xanthogranulomatous Osteomyelitis as a Bone Tumor Mimic: A Systematic Review of Pre-biopsy Diagnostic Clues and Management Decision Points.
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Xanthogranulomatous osteomyelitis (XO) is a rare inflammatory form of osteomyelitis that can closely resemble a primary bone tumor or metastatic lesion at presentation. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and focused on pre-biopsy diagnostic clues and management decision points in published skeletal XO reports. PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched from January 2026 to May 2026, identifying 86 records. Eligible studies included human case reports and case series describing histologically confirmed skeletal XO or xanthogranulomatous inflammation involving bone; non-skeletal xanthogranulomatous disease, duplicate reports, review articles without extractable patient-level data, and distinct neoplastic entities were excluded. After deduplication and full-text review, 31 studies met the inclusion criteria and represented 33 patients. Data extraction was performed independently by two reviewers, and reporting quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist for case reports. A neoplastic process was considered before biopsy in 29 of 31 studies (93.5%). Lytic or osteolytic destruction was described in 25/31 (80.6%), periosteal reaction in 20/31 (64.5%), a soft-tissue component in 19/31 (61.3%), and cortical breach or destruction in 16/31 (51.6%). Biopsy or histopathologic confirmation was reported in 22/31 studies (71.0%), and organism or culture data were documented in 19/31 (61.3%), supporting combined histopathologic and microbiologic evaluation. Management ranged from biopsy and debridement to reconstructive or resection procedures, depending on diagnostic uncertainty and structural risk. Overall, the literature supports XO as an important skeletal tumor mimic. An integrated clinical-radiologic-pathologic framework with early tissue confirmation and routine culture submission when tissue is obtained may help avoid inappropriate oncologic treatment and guide lesion-specific management.
Indexed as
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.