Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome: a case report and three-decade review of the literature

BACKGROUND: No case of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome has been reported in China. This study was to report a rare repeatedly recurrent case of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome diagnosed in China and a three-decade literature review of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome worldwide. CASE PRESENTATION: A rare case of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome was diagnosed in 2005 with follow-up to 2011. All medical records were collected and literature of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome from 1979 to 2011 was obtained through Medline. This typical case, diagnosed and confirmed by histopathologic results, was a 72-year-old Chinese woman who had a complaint of night sweat for a month. A localized mass 12 cm × 11 cm × 8 cm in size was found associated with pleural effusion in her left low chest cavity, and blood tests showed severe hypoglycemia. Removal of the mass solved the hypoglycemia. The case was repeatedly recurrent in April, 2010 and March, 2011 and had no signs of recurrence up to the end of 2011 after surgery. A review of 45 cases of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome compared and summarized clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes by benign and malignant tumor nature. CONCLUSIONS: Incidence of solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome is similar between genders. There are no significant differences in clinical characteristics between benign and malignant cases. Surgery is the first effective treatment for solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura with Doege-Potter syndrome and the completeness of the initial resection is the key to preventing recurrence. Routine follow-up examinations are recommended for early detection of recurrence.