Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura: an estimation of population incidence

Our plain-English summary of Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura: an estimation of population incidence, by T. Thorgeirsson, H.J. Isaksson, H. Hardardottir, et al (Chest, 2010).

The study

• Authors: T. Thorgeirsson, H.J. Isaksson, H. Hardardottir, H. Alfredsson, T. Gudbjartsson
• Journal: Chest
• Published: 2010;137(4):1005-6
• Type of article: Letter
• Cited by: 25 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

In this letter, the authors estimated the population incidence of solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTPs). These are localized pleural tumors, most of which are benign, and the authors stated that an age-standardized incidence rate for them had not previously been reported. All patients diagnosed with histologically proven SFTP in Iceland from 1984 to 2007 were identified through a centralized pathology registry. Age-standardized incidence rates (world standard population) were calculated. For comparison, information on mesothelioma was obtained from the population-based Icelandic Cancer Registry. Eleven patients were diagnosed with SFTP (mean age 60 years; eight women), compared with 35 with mesothelioma (mean age 68 years; four women). The age-standardized incidence rates were 1.4 per million (95% CI, 0.54-2.2) for SFTP and 4.0 per million (95% CI, 2.6-5.4) for mesothelioma. All SFTPs had benign histology. Three cases were symptomatic and eight were detected incidentally. Apart from one case diagnosed at autopsy, all patients underwent complete surgical resection. Average tumor diameter was 6.5 cm (range, 1.3-20 cm). Eight tumors arose from the visceral pleura and three from the parietal pleura. At a median follow-up of 70 months there had been no recurrence or disease-related death. The authors concluded that this was, to their knowledge, the first age-standardized population incidence for SFTP. They suggested the Icelandic rate is possibly in the higher range, because easy access to chest imaging makes incidental detection more likely.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This short research letter from Iceland used nationwide registries to estimate how often solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTP), mostly benign tumors of the lining around the lungs, are diagnosed. The authors found every patient with a tissue-confirmed SFTP in Iceland from 1984 to 2007 through a central pathology registry. For comparison, they took mesothelioma cases from the Icelandic Cancer Registry. Eleven patients had SFTP (mean age 60; eight women) and 35 had mesothelioma (mean age 68; four women). The age-standardized rates were 1.4 per million for SFTP (95% CI 0.54 to 2.2) and 4.0 per million for mesothelioma (95% CI 2.6 to 5.4). All 11 SFTPs were benign. Eight were found by chance and three patients had symptoms. All but one were completely removed by surgery; that one was found at autopsy. At a median follow-up of 70 months there was no recurrence or disease-related death. The authors noted the small number of patients. Because many tumors are found by chance on chest imaging, they said Iceland's rate is possibly in the higher range. The letter did not examine asbestos exposure.

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: Research letter (correspondence) reporting a nationwide, population-based registry study of all diagnosed cases over 24 years
• Who was studied: All patients in Iceland with histologically proven solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura diagnosed 1984 to 2007 (11 patients), identified through a centralized pathology registry. Mesothelioma cases (35) from the population-based Icelandic Cancer Registry were used for comparison.
• Main results:
  • 11 patients were diagnosed with SFTP (mean age 60 years; eight women), compared with 35 with mesothelioma (mean age 68 years; four women)
  • Age-standardized incidence rate (world standard population) was 1.4 per million for SFTP (95% CI 0.54 to 2.2) and 4.0 per million for mesothelioma (95% CI 2.6 to 5.4)
  • All 11 SFTP cases had benign histology
  • Of the 11 SFTP patients, 3 had symptoms and 8 were detected incidentally
  • Except for one SFTP case diagnosed at autopsy, all SFTP patients had complete surgical removal of the tumor
  • Average SFTP tumor diameter was 6.5 cm (range 1.3 to 20 cm)
  • At a median follow-up of 70 months, there was no recurrence of SFTP and no disease-related death
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that over 24 years in Iceland, 46 primary pleural tumors were diagnosed, about one-fourth of them SFTPs, all with a benign course. They considered Iceland's SFTP rate possibly in the higher range because easy access to chest imaging makes incidental detection more likely.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Small number of patients
  • Because many SFTP patients have no symptoms, incidence rates depend on how likely tumors are to be found by chance, mainly on chest imaging

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Solitary Fibrous Tumor, Pleura, Incidence, Pathology, Mesothelioma, Cancer Registry, Histology, Autopsy.

Related studies

• Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura — A. Orki, A. Kosar, et al. (2008)
• Solitary benign fibrous tumors of the pleura — M.A. Regal, A.M. Al Rubaish, et al. (2008)
• Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura: a case report and review of the literature — P. Mordenti, R. Di Cicilia, et al. (2013)
• Resection of a giant, invasive malignant solitary fibrous tumor of pleura — K. Imai, K. Hirayama, et al. (2012)
• Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura: 3 case reports — E. Amorim (2015)
• Huge malignant solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura — W.A. Arab, D. Lamoth, et al. (2012)

Browse more research in Chest, or return to medical research.