Intrathoracic giant solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura: Case report

Introduction: Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura(SFTP) is exceedingly rare mesenchymal tumor commonly arising from the visceral pleura and accounts for <5% of all pleural tumors. Although it commonly has benign histologic characteristics, the tumor behavior is often unpredictable and less understood due to limited number of cases. Case presentation: We present a rare case of Intrathoracic Giant SFTP in a 65 years old female who presented with a progressive worsening of shortness of breath of 1 year duration associated with intermittent dry cough, low grade fever, easy fatigability and loss of appetite. Complete enbloc resection was done and she was discharged improved. Discussion: Most patients with SFTP are asymptomatic and definitive diagnosis is often made after surgical exploration and histopathologic study. Although 80% of SFTP arise from visceral pleura, the origin in our case was from the parietal pleura which is rare. Conclusion: SFTP should be considered as differential diagnosis in patients with atypical or recurrent respiratory symptoms despite adequate medical treatment. Complete surgical excision is the main stay of treatment and meticulous post-operative follow up is mandatory as the risk of recurrence is higher and the tumor behavior is still less understood.