Case Report
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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2013; 19(21): 3354-3357
Published online Jun 7, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i21.3354
Malignant solitary fibrous tumor involving the liver
Manuel Jakob, Matthias Schneider, Ingo Hoeller, Urban Laffer, Reto Kaderli
Manuel Jakob, Matthias Schneider, Urban Laffer, Reto Kaderli, Department of Surgery, Spitalzentrum Biel AG, CH-2501 Biel, Switzerland
Ingo Hoeller, Department of Radiology, Spitalzentrum Biel AG, CH-2501 Biel, Switzerland
Reto Kaderli, Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, University Hospital Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland
Author contributions: Schneider M and Laffer U performed the surgery and oversaw the postoperative management; Jakob M, Hoeller I and Kaderli R wrote the article, organized the patient’s data, and constructed the figures; all authors critically revised the manuscript for intellectual content and approved the final version.
Correspondence to: Urban Laffer, MD, FRCS, Head of the Department of Surgery, Spitalzentrum Biel AG, Vogelsang 84, CH-2501 Biel, Switzerland. urban.laffer@szb-chb.ch
Telephone: +41-32-3243784 Fax: +41-32-3243782
Received: December 13, 2012
Revised: March 30, 2013
Accepted: April 27, 2013
Published online: June 7, 2013
Processing time: 172 Days and 16.2 Hours
Abstract

Solitary fibrous tumors are predominantly benign and are most commonly found in the thoracic cavity and pleura; while reports exist in the literature of malignant solitary fibrous tumors and those located in extrathoracic organs, these cases are considered extremely rare. Herein, a case is reported of a malignant solitary fibrous tumor involving the liver that was diagnosed and treated in a 62-year-old woman. The patient presented with complaints of upper abdominal pain and unintentional weight loss. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen revealed a remarkably large mass, measuring 15 cm × 10 cm × 20 cm, which appeared to be unrelated to any particular organ. The intraoperative finding of a wide communication with the left liver suggested hepatic origin, and served as an indicator for tumor resection via left hemihepatectomy. The diagnosis of solitary fibrous tumor and its malignant nature was confirmed by histological and immunohistochemical examination of the resected tissues. Hepatic solitary fibrous tumor is very rare, and surgery remains the mainstay of treatment. Due to limited reports of such tumors in the literature, little can be said about the benefit of adjuvant therapy and prognosis for the rare cases with malignant histological findings.

Keywords: Malignant; Solitary fibrous tumor; Liver; Extrathoracic; Mesenchymal neoplasm; Surgical resection

Core tip: Solitary fibrous tumors are predominantly benign and most commonly found in the thoracic cavity and pleura, but occasionally show malignant characteristics and occur in extrathoracic organs. A malignant solitary fibrous tumor involving the liver that was diagnosed in a 62-year-old woman and treated by surgical resection is reported here. Solitary fibrous tumor is very rare in a hepatic location, and surgery is the mainstay of treatment. Due to limited reports of such tumors in the literature, little can be said about the benefit of adjuvant therapy and prognosis for the rare cases with malignant histological findings.