Calcifying Fibrous Tumor of the Pleura: A Rare Case with an Unusual Presentation on CT and MRI

Calcifying fibrous tumors (CFTs) are rare benign tumors of uncertain etiology. These lesions consist of hyalinized collagenous fibrotic tissue interspersed with lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate and extensive dystrophic calcifications mimicking psammomatous features (1). CFT was first introduced as a “childhood fibrous tumor with psammoma bodies” by Rosenthal and Abdul-Karin in 1988 and was renamed “calcifying fibrous pseudotumor” by Fetsch et al. (2) in 1993. According to the World Health Organization classification, “calcifying fibrous tumor” is the term currently used (3). CFT of the pleura is a very rare entity first reported by Pinkard et al. (1) in 1996. To date, 15 cases of CFT of the pleura have been reported. The present report focuses on radiographic features of CFT of the pleura including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings not reported previously. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of our hospital. The requirement for patient informed consent was waived due to the retrospective nature of the study. Patient records and information were anonymized and de-identified prior to analysis.