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. 2025 Jan 24;25(1):37.
doi: 10.1186/s12890-025-03476-5.

Eight patients with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor treated with rigid bronchoscopy

Byeong-Ho Jeong #  1 , Rong Lih Ho #  2 , Ho Yun Lee  3 , Joungho Han  4 , Hojoong Kim  5
Affiliations

Eight patients with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor treated with rigid bronchoscopy

Byeong-Ho Jeong et al. BMC Pulm Med. .

Abstract

Background: Pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) accounts for 0.04-0.7% of all lung tumors, and endobronchial IMT accounts for only 10% of all pulmonary IMTs. Little is known about the therapeutic outcomes of rigid bronchoscopy for endobronchial IMT. Here, we report a case series of eight patients with endobronchial IMT underwent rigid bronchoscopy.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed eight patients with endobronchial IMT between January 2004 and December 2023.

Results: The median age of our patients was 36 years, and 62.5% were male. Dyspnea was the predominant symptom in cases where the tumor was centrally located (n = 6), whereas hemoptysis was the predominant symptom in peripherally located tumors (n = 2). Most cases had high contrast enhancement and a tumor stalk without bronchial wall invasion on computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy. Complete endoscopic resection and laser cauterization via rigid bronchoscopy were possible in five patients. There were only two cases in which tumors remained after the procedure, requiring additional treatment (chemotherapy and surgical resection, respectively). In one patient, surgical resection was performed three weeks after the procedure, and the surgical specimen was free of residual tumor. There was no mortality during the median follow-up duration of 18.8 months.

Conclusions: Endoscopic resection and laser cauterization using rigid bronchoscopy may serve as a safe and effective alternative treatment modality to surgery for patients with endobronchial IMT.

Keywords: Endobronchial inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor; Endoscopic resection; Laser cauterization; Rigid bronchoscopy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Samsung Medical Center (IRB no. 2024-04-098). Informed consent was waived by the IRB because it is a retrospective study, many patients are not being followed up, and it does not contain personal information that can be used to infer individual patients. However, we want to emphasize that we strictly adhered to ethical principles and ensured patient confidentiality throughout the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: None of the authors has a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this manuscript. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Representative case (Case No. 5). (A) A 34-year-old man underwent a CT scan due to progressive dyspnea. A 14-mm-sized, well-enhanced, round nodule was seen at the mid trachea without tracheal wall invasion. (B) Bronchoscopic gross findings showed a lobulated mass with a stalk hanging from the anterior wall of the trachea. (C) After mechanical removal of the tumor mass using a rigid bronchoscope, the tumor base was cauterized using a diode laser. (D) The tumor mass was resected en bloc. 10% of tumor cells were positive for Ki-67. (E) This photo was taken 10 months after the procedure. There was no recurrence during five years of follow-up after the procedure
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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