Rare solitary benign tumors of the lung

Benign solitary neoplasms of the lung are relatively uncommon but nonetheless must be considered in the differential diagnosis of any solitary pulmonary lesion. Ironically, the advent of improved tomographic imaging and its increasingly broad clinical application have led to a greater recognition of benign solitary pulmonary lesions, presenting the surgeon with a complex management dilemma. Most benign lesions are relatively bland radiographically, making their differentiation from carcinoma difficult. Often, diagnostic certainty can only be achieved with complete resection. Fortunately, advances in minimally invasive thoracic surgery make this prospect less daunting for the patient and surgeon. This article reviews a subset of solitary lesions categorized as rare benign neoplasms from histologic, radiographic, and clinical points of view.