Are there gender differences in the outcome of primary resection of solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura?

Background Solitary fibrous tumors of the pleura (SFTPs) are primary pleural tumors of mesenchymal origin. Surgery is the treatment of choice for SFTPs. Little is known about gender differences in the surgical outcome of SFTPs.

Methods & Materials In a 22-year retrospective monocentric analysis between January 2003 and December 2024, a total of 133 patients underwent primary resection of SFTP. Patients’ demographics and clinical data were obtained from the institutional database. Comorbidities, surgical details, immunohistochemistry, postoperative course, recurrence rate and outcome were compared between women and men.

Results The mean age for the entire study group was 64 ± 11.5 years , the mean tumor size was 8.0 ± 7.3 cm. Overall survival (OS) was 189.2 month and recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 175.4 month. 56.4% of patients were female and 43.6% were male. There was no difference between women and men in terms of mean age (63.5 ± 11.4 vs. 63.0 ± 11.5) or mean tumor size (8.0 ± 7.3 vs. 8.0 ± 7.2). There was a significant difference in OS in women compared to men (p=0.009), but no significant sex-dependent difference for RFS (p=0.082). In the female cohort, there was a correlation between RFS and tumor size (<10cm vs. >10cm; p=0.001) in contrast to the male cohort (p=0.958). There was no difference in OS between women and men over the age of 55 (p=0.074).

Conclusion There is a gender-specific difference in overall survival between women and men after primary resection of SFTPs. Long-term regular CT-based follow-up should be performed in all patients after primary resection of SFTPs to detect recurrence at an early stage. Especially women with a tumor size of more than 10cm have a high risk of tumor recurrence. Further studies are needed to explain and address these gender differences.

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
25. August 2025