Orbital solitary fibrous tumor : a case report and diagnostic clues

Orbital solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare tumor originating from the mesenchyme. We describe the clinical presentations, radiological and operative findings, and pathological features of a patient with orbital SFT. The patient was a 46-year-old female who presented with progressive proptosis advanced for 20 months. On ophthalmological examination, no visual impairment was detected, but left eye was found to be obviously protruded on exophthalmometry. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging showed a 2.5 x 2 x 2 cm, intensely enhanced mass in the left orbit, which compressed the eyeball forward and the optic nerve downward. The patient underwent frontal craniotomy with superior orbitotomy and gross total resection was performed for the tumor. The histopathological diagnosis including immunohistochemistry was a SFT. After the surgery, proptosis was markedly relieved without visual impairment. Although orbital SFT is extremely rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of orbital tumors. Clinical presentations such as painless proptosis and CD34 immunoreactivity play a significant role in differentiating orbital SFT from other spindle-cell neoplasms of the orbit.