Frequency and treatment outcomes of chest wall masses: a 10-year report

Abstract

Introduction: Chest wall tumors, though rare, represent a significant subset of thoracic neoplasms, accounting for approximately 5% of thoracic and 2% of overall body neoplasms. Their management has historically posed challenges for surgeons, often leading to misdiagnosis, incomplete resection, and high complication rates. An individualized surgical approach, tailored to the specific characteristics of the disease, is crucial for optimizing outcomes.

Aim: To evaluate the outcomes of chest wall masses and report on individual cases.

Material and methods: This retrospective cohort study included 131 patients diagnosed with chest wall masses at Ghaem University Hospital between 2011 and 2021. Data on demographics (age, gender), pre- and post-operative pathology, specific surgical procedures performed, duration of hospitalization, need for post-surgical reconstruction (e.g., flap reconstruction), and history of pre-operative chemotherapy/radiotherapy were collected from medical records. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and appropriate inferential tests depending on the variable type. Potential limitations such as missing data or selection bias were acknowledged.

Results: A total of 131 patient records were examined, with an average age of 17.35 ±38.51 years. Of these, 50 (38.2%) were female and 81 (61.8%) were male. It was found that 54.2% of patients had benign tumors, while 45.8% had malignant tumors. Sarcoma (26%) and fibromatosis (21.4%) were the most common tumor types. No significant associations were observed between gender or history of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the type of surgery performed (p > 0.05). However, a significant association was found between tumor histology and the type of surgery performed (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The majority of procedures performed were for fibromatous and benign tumors, while the most common malignant tumors were sarcomas, with chondrosarcoma being the predominant subtype. Tumor type significantly influenced the extent of resection and need for chest wall reconstruction.

Keywords: benign tumors; chest wall tumors; malignant tumors; treatment outcomes.