Clinical and pathological analysis of pediatric patients with primary pulmonary tumors at a single center.
AI interpretation is pending for this paper.
Open original publication →What the AI sees
Not AI summarized yet.
Research significance
Pending deeper interpretation.
Source abstract
Primary pulmonary tumors in pediatric patients are rare; however, they are frequently malignant, posing significant diagnostic challenges. Therefore, the present study aimed to systematically investigate the clinical, imaging and pathological characteristics of primary pulmonary tumors in children. A total of 36 pediatric patients diagnosed with primary pulmonary tumors were included. Clinical data were collected, including clinical manifestations, imaging findings, pathological analysis, diagnosis and therapy. Among 36 pediatric patients with primary pulmonary tumors, 19 were girls and 17 were boys. The age at diagnosis was 2.0-9.8 years with a median of 4 years. A total of 11 histopathologic tumor types were identified, with pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) being the most prevalent. The clinical manifestations were nonspecific, primarily presenting as respiratory symptoms, including cough and fever. These symptoms were frequently associated with complications, including pleural effusion and atelectasis. The maximum tumor diameter ranged from 2.0 to 7.0 cm (median: 4.0 cm), with a predominance of unilateral and unifocal lesions. Furthermore, younger age at diagnosis, solitary lesions and larger non-cystic tumors are indicative of a higher likelihood of PPB. The surgical treatment of thirty-five patients was primarily comprised of open thoracotomy and thoracoscopic surgery. Chemotherapy was administered to 16 patients, while two received a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Follow-up data were available for 33 patients, with a median follow-up time of 15.0 months and three patients experienced tumor recurrence. The clinical manifestations of primary pulmonary tumors in children are not specific. Imaging and pathological characteristics are valuable in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors. Younger age at diagnosis, solitary lesions and larger non-cystic tumors are indicative of a higher likelihood of PPB. Integrating molecular diagnostics is an important direction for future research to improve early detection and treatment outcomes.