An extremely rare case of desmoplastic fibroblastoma exhibiting rapid growth in the chest wall: a case report

BACKGROUND: Desmoplastic fibroblastoma is an uncommon, benign, fibrous tumor exhibiting infiltrative growth. Most of these tumors are small, slow-growing, and develop as subcutaneous lesions in the extremities. Cases of desmoplastic fibroblastoma in the chest wall are quite rare, and the preoperative diagnosis of such cases remains challenging as these tumors can mimic the characteristics of desmoid-type fibromatosis, which often occurs in the chest wall. We aimed to describe a rare case of desmoplastic fibroblastoma exhibiting rapid growth in the chest wall of a patient that was successfully treated with marginal excision only by diagnostic imaging before surgery. CASE PRESENTATION: A 79-year-old man was admitted to our hospital after experiencing right shoulder pain lasting for a few months. A 4 × 4 × 2 cm mass was incidentally detected at the right second rib two years prior. Chest computed tomography revealed a well-defined homogeneous mass with a muscle-like density along the right lateral chest wall, the size of which had increased to 12 × 10 × 4.5 cm in two years. Dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed abundant vascularity at the periphery of the tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed iso-intensity to muscle on T1-weighted images, slightly high intensity on T2-weighted images, and rim-like contrast enhancement at the periphery of the tumor, with uniform thickness on gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images with fat suppression. Rim-like contrast enhancement is an imaging feature that can distinguish cases of desmoplastic fibroblastoma from desmoid-type fibromatosis. We diagnosed the tumor as desmoplastic fibroblastoma by diagnostic imaging without tissue biopsy. Marginal excision with videoscopic assistance was performed through a small incision. The pathological diagnosis was desmoplastic fibroblastoma. The patient’s postoperative course was uneventful, and his shoulder pain was relieved after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Desmoplastic fibroblastoma in the chest wall is extremely rare, but should be considered in the differential diagnosis when desmoid-type fibromatosis is clinically suspected. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging is helpful in confirming the differential diagnosis.