The management of solitary fibrous tumor: a single center's experience

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm, with about 30% occurring in the intra-thoracic area. This study describes the clinical characteristics and management strategies for SFT in a single center.

A retrospective review was conducted on patients with pleural SFT who underwent surgery at our institution from January 2005 to August 2023. Data included demographics, tumor features, surgical details, pathology, and follow-up outcomes.

Seventeen patients underwent 19 surgeries. The median age was 57 years, and 41% of patients were male. Right-sided tumors accounted for 63% of cases, and 26% of tumors exceeded 10 cm. VATS was used in 68% of procedures. Blood loss varied widely from 50 to 8,600 mL, with a median hospital stay of 6 days. Risk classification included 9 low-risk, 7 intermediate-risk, and 3 high-risk surgical cases. Survival status was available for 13 patients; 12 were alive, and 1 had died from unrelated lung cancer.

This single-center experience suggests that complete resection remains central to the management of pleural SFT, and VATS may be feasible in selected cases. Preoperative planning may be useful for large or hypervascular tumors, and long-term follow-up should be considered because recurrence with pathological progression may occur. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the small sample size and retrospective design.