A case of chest wall neurinoma with bone destruction

Abstract

We report a rare case of chest wall neurinoma with bone destruction that was initially suspected as a malignant tumor. A 72-year-old female was referred to our hospital because of an abnormal chest shadow. Chest CT scan demonstrated a posterior chest wall mass with bone destruction of the left 4th and 5th ribs and part of the 4th thoracic vertebra (transverse process). FDG-PET showed abnormal accumulation in the lesion and no other lesion was present. We diagnosed her with a primary malignant chest wall tumor and performed surgical complete resection with hemi laminectomy and rib resection. The pathological diagnosis was chest wall neurinoma with bone destruction of ribs and a vertebra. No finding of recurrence has been observed for 3 years since surgery.