Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura

The solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura (SFTP) is a rare primary tumor arising from mesenchymal cells in the areolar tissue subjacent to the mesothelial-lined pleura. Only about 800 cases have been reported in the medical literature. The tumor appears to be unrelated to malignant pleural mesothelioma, the most common primary tumor of the pleura.

In just over half of these cases, the neoplasm presents as an asymptomatic mass, is often quite large, and is benign in 78% to 88% of patients. The initial evaluation and diagnosis, tumor classification, surgical treatment, results of therapy, and long-term prognosis are reviewed, based on a selective review of the literature from MEDLINE beginning 1980.

Complete en bloc surgical resection is the preferred treatment of benign and malignant varieties of the tumor. The pedunculated tumors attached to the visceral pleura can be effectively treated with a wedge resection of lung. Sessile tumors arising on the lung require a larger lung resection. Sessile tumors on the chest wall require wide local excision, often with chest wall resection because of their propensity for local recurrence. Adjuvant therapy remains controversial in SFTP.

Benign SFTP has a high cure rate and an 8% local recurrence rate that is usually amenable to curative re-excision. Malignant SFTP, especially the more common sessile type, has a 63% recurrence rate even with complete resection. The majority of patients with recurrent disease die of the tumor within 2 years. Nevertheless, the overall long-term cure rate for all patients is 88% to 92%.