Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor directly invading the right first rib treated with oral steroids: a case report

We present a case of an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor cured with a short period of steroid administration, a treatment previously unreported for such cases.

A 49-year-old man had a chief complaint of chest pain for more than 3 days. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a tumoral lesion suspected to have infiltrated into the right first rib and intercostal muscles, with changes in lung parenchymal density around the lesion. The maximal standardized uptake value on 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography was high (16.73), consistent with tumor presence. CT-guided biopsy revealed an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor with no distant metastases. Surgery was indicated based on the disease course. However, he had received an oral steroid before the preoperative contrast-enhanced CT scan due to a history of bronchial asthma, and subsequent CT showed that the tumor shrank in size after administration; he has been recurrence-free for more than a year.

Surgery is still the first choice for inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors, as the disease can metastasize and relapse; however, this condition can also be cured with a short period of steroid therapy.