Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura mimicking a soft tissue sarcoma of the chest wall

• Published in: International journal of surgery case reports Vol. 91; p. 106746
• Main Authors: Watanabe, Kentaro, Takabe, Yuya, Iizuka, Shuhei, Otsuki, Yoshiro, Nakamura, Toru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Case Report; Preoperative diagnosis; Radiological images; Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTP); SFTP; Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTP); Radiological images; Preoperative diagnosis; AKA
• ISSN: 2210-2612; 2210-2612
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.106746

Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTPs) present a diagnostic challenge. We herein report a successful case mimicking a soft tissue sarcoma of the chest wall by a meticulous evaluation of the conventional images. A 51-year-old woman presented with a left thoracic mass. The mass exhibited an extrapleural sign, which suggested a chest wall origin. However, the mass was found to be located more caudally by additional computed tomography. This positional change suggested that the mass was pedunculated from the visceral pleura, and an SFTP was suspected. The mass was found to originate from the visceral pleura of the left lower lobe and a pathological diagnosis of an SFTP was confirmed. Although a positional shift with a postural change or the respiratory phase is a well-known characteristic radiological finding, such an intentional imaging study is available only for suspicious cases of SFTPs. SFTPs pose a diagnostic challenge because of their rarity and the lack of specific radiological findings. Even conventional radiological images can be diagnostic by performing a meticulous evaluation regardless of any specific diagnosis being initially assumed. •Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura (SFTP) poses a diagnostic challenge because of their rarity and the lack of specific radiological findings.•The positional shift with a postural change or the respiratory phase is one of the most characteristic radiological findings, but would be feasible only in the suspicious cases of SFTP.•Even conventional radiological images can be diagnostic by performing a meticulous evaluation regardless of any specific diagnosis being initially assumed.