Giant benign fibrous tumor of the pleura in a pregnant woman: report of a case

Our plain-English summary of Giant benign fibrous tumor of the pleura in a pregnant woman: report of a case, by A. Cakan, U. Cagirici, G. Yuncu, et al (Surgery Today, 2003).

The study

• Authors: A. Cakan, U. Cagirici, G. Yuncu, A.G. Yener
• Journal: Surgery Today
• Published: 2003;33(3):196-8
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

While most pleural neoplasms are malignant and associated with asbestos exposure, benign tumors may also occur. Benign fibrous tumors of the pleura are rare and, unless diagnosed and resected early, they may reach an enormous size and cause severe symptoms. We report the case of a pregnant woman with a giant benign fibrous tumor localized in the pleura.

In plain English

This article is a case report from Izmir, Turkey, describing one patient: a 31-year-old woman in her sixth month of pregnancy who came to hospital with worsening shortness of breath and left chest pain. X-rays showed a massive fluid build-up in the left side of the chest. Because of the pregnancy, the doctors drained the fluid and postponed surgery until after delivery. Scans then showed a giant mass. Her blood sugar was low, at 57 mg/dl. At surgery, the tumor was found arising from the left side of the diaphragm. It measured 15, 14 and 10 cm and weighed 1350 g, and it was completely removed. Examination of the tissue confirmed a benign fibrous tumor of the pleura. Her blood sugar returned to normal, and 29 months after the operation she was healthy with no sign of recurrence. The authors reported that the patient had not been exposed to asbestos. They wrote that such tumors, unless found and removed early, may grow very large and cause severe symptoms.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (a single patient)
• Who was studied: One 31-year-old pregnant woman (sixth month) treated at a hospital in Izmir, Turkey
• Exposure: The authors state that the patient had not been exposed to asbestos
• Main results:
  • On admission, chest X-rays showed a massive pleural effusion (fluid around the lung) on the left side
  • Surgery was postponed until after delivery
  • The patient's blood glucose level before surgery was 57 mg/dl
  • A needle biopsy of the mass suggested benign fibrous tissue and vascular proliferation
  • At surgery, the tumor was found arising from the left hemidiaphragm
  • The tumor and its diaphragmatic pedicle were completely removed
  • The mass measured 15, 14 and 10 cm (the multiplication signs are missing in the text) and weighed 1350 g
  • By the 18th day after surgery, the patient's blood glucose had normalized to 95 mg/dl
  • Histological examination confirmed a benign fibrous tumor of the pleura
  • At follow-up, the patient was healthy with no sign of recurrence
  • The follow-up was 29 months after resection, with a glucose level printed as 100 ml/dl
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that benign fibrous tumors of the pleura are rare and, unless diagnosed and removed early, may reach an enormous size and cause severe symptoms

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleura, Neoplasm, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Localized fibrous tumors (LFTs) of the pleura: clinical data, asbestos burden, and syntactic structure analysis applied to newly defined angiogenic/growth-regulatory effectors — K. Kayser, J. Trott, et al. (2005)
• A case of giant benign localized fibrous tumor of the pleura — M. Biçer, S. Yaldiz, et al. (1998)
• Benign cystic mesothelioma: a case series with one case complicated by pregnancy — O. Akbayir, A. Gedikbasi, et al. (2011)
• Resection of a giant, invasive malignant solitary fibrous tumor of pleura — K. Imai, K. Hirayama, et al. (2012)
• Benign localized fibrous tumor of the pleura: report of 25 new cases — S. Enon, D. Kilic, et al. (2012)
• Solitary benign fibrous tumors of the pleura — M.A. Regal, A.M. Al Rubaish, et al. (2008)

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