Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura: A single center experience at National Cancer Center, China.

BACKGROUND: This study explored the clinicopathological features, predictive factors of malignancy, effectiveness of video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), and prognosis of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura (SFTP).

METHODS: A single-center retrospective study of the data of 82 patients with SFTP who were surgically treated in our department between January 2003 and December 2015 was conducted.

RESULTS: A total of 82 SFTPs (70 benign, 12 malignant) were included and all patients underwent complete en bloc resection. SFTPs originated from the visceral pleura in 47 (57%) and the parietal pleura in 35 (43%) patients. In our cohort, malignant tumors were often symptomatically large, and the patients with malignant SFTPs (mSFTPs) often had a family history of neoplasms. Patients in the VATS group (n = 22) had tumors with significantly smaller diameters, required a shorter surgical duration and shorter hospital stay, and experienced less intraoperative blood loss and less postoperative chest tube drainage compared to the thoracotomy group (n = 60). No tumor recurrence was found in benign SFTP (bSFTP) patients. The long term survival and disease-free survival rates of mSFTP patients were 76% and 53%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Larger tumor diameter and a family history of neoplasm may be predictive factors for mSFTP; however, this conclusion needs to be verified in large cohort. VATS is safe and reliable for treating selected SFTP patients. Local recurrence is associated with mSFTP patient death, thus close follow-up of such patients is crucial.