Clinical and Histopathologic Correlates and Management Strategies for Inflammatory Myofibroblastic tumor of the lung. A case series and review of the literature

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a mesenchymal neoplasm that may arise in soft tissues of nearly every organ. Although IMTs are the most common lung tumors in pediatric populations, these tumors are extremely rare in adults, constituting less than 1% of adult lung tumors. IMTs are characterized by proliferating spindle cells with variable inflammatory component. The biological behavior of lung IMTs in adults is highly unpredictable, which confounds diagnosis and treatment. We retrospectively investigated patients with pulmonary lesions and the histopathologic diagnosis of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor or its synonymous names (Plasma Cell Granuloma, xanthogranuloma, inflammatory pseudotumor, fibroxanthoma, and fibrous histiocytoma) at the MD Anderson Cancer Institute in the period between August 2000 and August 2016. We describe 7 adult cases of IMT of the lung that were diagnosed at MD Anderson Cancer Center. These cases highlight the tumor’s variability in terms of clinical presentation, histopathology, and biologic behavior, and underscore the challenges in the management of these rare lung neoplasms.