A case of recurrence and rapid growth of pleural solitary fibrous tumor 8 years after initial surgery.

A 69-year-old woman underwent resection of a solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) of the left pleura in April 1997 and of locally recurrent SFT in the left thoracic cavity in September 2003. A postoperative follow-up chest CT scan in March 2005 revealed pleural thickening at two sites of the left thoracic cavity. A further chest CT scan performed in September of the same year showed the enlarging tendency of the lesions, suggesting SFT recurrence, for which surgery was performed in January 2006. The two resected tumors were benign SFT, and were diagnosed as locally recurrent SFT in the left thoracic cavity. It has been reported that despite its benign histopathology, pleural SFT recurs more than once after surgery, and the interval between recurrences tends to shorten from the second recurrence. In this patient, the tumor recurred twice and showed a rapidly enlarging tendency at the time of the second recurrence, suggesting the need for careful follow-up at short intervals.