[Imaging findings of malignant fibrous histiocytoma in the lung]
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Published on: July 21, 2018
1Cancer Institute (Hospital), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing.
Objective:
To show the characteristic findings of the image of primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma (PMFH) in the lung.
Methods:
Fifty-one cases of pulmonary PMFH were reviewed, 7 from our hospital and 44 from the literature including chest radiograms 51 cases; CT scans 9 cases and MRI 1 case.
Results:
Primary MFH comprises 0.01% of all pulmonany malignant tumors seen in the same period. The mean age was 55 years. The most common complaints were cough, hemoptysis and chest pain. In 40 cases who were followed, recurrence/metastasis developed in 42.9% with 80% appearing within one year. The sites of the lesion were: right lobe in 34 cases and left lobe in 17 cases. It was peripheral in 49 (96.1%) cases and central in 2 (3.9%). The finding of the image was a large solitary mass (> 5 cm, 68.6%) with regular or irregular margin. Most of the tumors were well circumscribed (56.9%) or lobulated (43.1%) showing homogeneous attenuation (64.7%). Cystic changes or cavitation was observed in a few cases. On CT, the lesion shows low attenuation and involves the adjacent structures.
Conclusion:
PMFH gives images which are not pathognomonic. Yet, its regular, well defined border, less lobulated configuration could differentiate itself from the common malignant and benign lesionsin the lung. CT and MRI can provide useful information in demonstrating the nature and extent of invasion of the tumor.
