Refusing treatment, after a year the tumor grew to weigh 2kg and collapsed the lung.

Image of tumor filling the patient's chest cavity - Photo: Provided by the hospital

On September 30, Hanoi Oncology Hospital announced that it had successfully performed surgery to remove a tumor measuring 20cm in size, occupying almost the entire chest. It is known that the patient discovered the tumor a year ago but refused surgery.

Ms. L. (64 years old, in Thai Nguyen) said that the reason she did not have surgery a year ago was because she saw that the tumor was small and did not cause any discomfort. Recently, she had symptoms of increasing shortness of breath but still hesitated to go to the doctor, until her health seriously declined, losing 5kg, then she went to the hospital.

The results of the CT scan at the Hanoi Oncology Hospital showed a solid mass measuring 20cm x 15cm in the right chest cavity, collapsing the lung, infiltrating the mediastinum and chest wall. The patient underwent a biopsy of the tumor, and the pathological result was a solitary fibrous tumor.

The patient was then indicated for surgery to treat the tumor, however, the surgical prognosis was difficult because the patient was weak, the tumor was large, occupied almost the entire chest cavity, and had many new blood vessels.

Doctor Phan Le Thang - head of the on-demand surgery department at Hanoi Oncology Hospital - said the surgical team had to consult and calculate carefully before the surgery because the surgical operations had to be performed in an extremely narrow operating room.

The tumor is rich in blood vessels, so the surgeon must carefully dissect, find and control the blood supply to ensure the safety of the surgery and limit blood loss for the patient.

The surgery was successful, the removed tumor weighed more than 2kg. During the surgery, the patient did not need additional blood transfusion and recovered well.

According to the doctor's assessment, this large tumor is quite rare. If the patient leaves it untreated for a long time, it will not only make the surgery more difficult but also put the patient at risk of malignant transformation, affecting their life. Therefore, when treatment is indicated, the patient should not hesitate and miss the "golden time" for treatment.

Dr. Thang added that Solitary Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura (SFTP) is a rare tumor that arises from the mesenchymal cells of the pleura. Most solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura are benign, but about 12-22% of cases can become malignant.

Symptoms of solitary fibrous pleura are often unclear and only appear when the tumor is large, causing compressive symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain or persistent cough. Imaging tests play an important role in diagnosis, solitary fibrous pleura often appears as a solitary, opaque mass on chest X-ray or CT.

Surgery plays a decisive role in the treatment of solitary pleural fibroma, as this is the only method that completely removes the tumor and reduces the risk of recurrence.

In most cases, radical surgical removal of the tumor results in a good prognosis and high survival rate for the patient.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tu-choi-dieu-tri-sau-mot-nam-khoi-u-phat-trien-nang-2kg-de-xep-phoi-20240930150246017.htm