Solitary fibrous tumor arising in the sphenoethmoidal recess: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Recently, solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) have been reported in the head and neck area, such as the nasal cavity, thyroid, salivary gland, etc. We present a rare case of SFT which arose from the sphenoethmoidal recess of the nasal cavity, penetrating into the sphenoid sinus, and which showed different intensities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) according to the occupied locations. T2 weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images showed low intensity in the nasal cavity, and iso-intensity in the sphenoid sinus. Enhancement with gadolinium contrast on T1-weighted images was more remarkable in the sphenoid sinus than in the nasal cavity. While the tumor in the nasal cavity showed abundant collagen and high cellularity in microscopic examination, numerous small vessels and dilated vascular spaces were remarkable in the tumor of the sphenoid sinus. MRI findings corresponded to pathological findings. We review SFTs in the head and neck area in the English literature.

Introduction

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is an uncommon neoplasm, which was first described as a primary spindle-cell tumor of the pleura in 1931 [1]. SFT belongs to a group of mesenchymal tumors [2], [3], [4]. This tumor usually arises from the pleura, but can also derive from extrapleural locations, such as the orbit [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], lung, mediastinum, abdomen, extremities, vulva, et al. [3], [14], [16], [17], [18], [19]. Recently, SFTs have been reported in the head and neck area, such as the nasal cavity [4], [14], [20], [21], thyroid [22], salivary gland [3], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], face [16], [28], [29], scalp, neck [14], [16], [30], nasopharynx [4], parapharyngeal space [31], [32], larynx, infratemporal fossa [33], and oral cavity [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40]. We this time report the case of SFT of the nasal cavity with extention to the sphenoid sinus.