Case report
Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor Mimicking Anterior Mediastinal Malignancy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2008.03.031Get rights and content

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor arising in the anterior mediastinum is rare. A 58-year-old woman had an anterior mediastinal mass invading the sternum, pericardium, and pleura. It was completely resected and found to be an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. The patient was well and had no recurrence 6 months after surgery.

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Comment

The cause, pathogenesis, and long-term prognosis of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor are unclear. Based on the pathology features, it was once believed to be purely an inflammatory process [3, 4]. However, in 2000, Lawrence and colleagues [5] reported rearrangement of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene in some cases of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. Because it may invade adjacent structures, as in our patient, and may have distant metastasis, it is now viewed as a true neoplasm of

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