Diagnosis and surgical treatment of mediastinal solitary fibrous tumor

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features as well as the diagnosis and treatment methods for mediastinal solitary fibrous tumor (MSFT).

Methods: The clinical data of 13 patients treated for pathologically confirmed MSFT were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical symptoms were mainly cough, chest tightness, chest pain and chest discomfort. It was difficult to distinguish MSFT from other types of tumors simply via imaging results, hence, the confirmative diagnosis required pathological and immunohistochemistry analysis.

Results: The tumors were completely resected for all patients. All patients were discharged after surgery and followed up for 2-85 months. One patient died of cerebral hemorrhage 2 months after the surgery, and the rest of the patients experienced no recurrence or metastasis during the follow-up period.

Conclusions: MSFT is a rare type of mediastinal tumor, and the diagnosis requires pathological and immunohistochemical analysis. Surgical treatment is preferred, and a complete resection can achieve a good prognosis; however, postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy might be necessary for cases with extensive external invasion.

Keywords: diagnosis; mediastinal tumor; solitary fibrous tumor; treatment.