A rare case of malignant solitary fibrous tumor of the spinal cord

Study Design. Case report. Objective. We present a case of an ambulatory patient with a solitary fibrous tumor of the spinal cord. Summary of Background Data. Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is an uncommon mesenchymal tumor of the pleural cavity, increasingly recognized at numerous extrathoracic sites, including, among others, prostate, kidney, and thyroid. The spinal cord is an extremely rare localization of SFTs with only 17 cases reported in the literature since 1996. Although SFTs are usually indolent neoplasms that are cured with complete surgical resection, malignant transformation has been described within histologically benign SFTs. However, no cases of malignant dissemination have been described in this localization. Methods. Discussion of the patient's clinical and radiologic history with a review of the relevant background literature. Results. We report the first case of spinal cord SFT with visceral dissemination years after the primary diagnosis, despite benign histologic features of the primary tumor. Conclusion. This finding may indicate that long-term follow-up might be necessary in these patients. In addition, metastatic radical surgery of SFTs should be considered to achieve long-term survival since there are no currently available effective systemic therapies.