Chest Wall Tumors

Are Chest Wall Tumors Common?

Cancerous tumors are uncommon. Chest wall tumors, whether malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous), are classified as primary or secondary (metastatic). The most common benign tumors are osteochondromas and chrondromas. The most common malignant chest wall tumors are sarcomas.

Primary tumors originate in the bone or muscle of the chest wall. Less than half of malignant chest wall tumors are primary. Secondary tumors originate elsewhere in the body and spread (metastasize) to the chest wall. Almost all secondary tumors are malignant. Most chest wall tumors found in children are primary, while most found in adults are secondary. All of these tumors tend to be a lump on the chest wall surface or a growth that invades the bone or muscle.

Symptoms of benign chest wall tumors may include one or more of the following:

• A localized mass
• Swelling
• Chest Pain
• Muscle atrophy (breakdown)

Symptoms of malignant chest wall tumors may include one or more of the following:

• A localized mass
• Swelling
• Chest Pain
• Impaired movement or chest expansion

• Imaging:
  • The physician will initially order an x-ray to see if there is an abnormality. If there is an abnormality shown on x-ray, your physician will then do a CT scan (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan to gain additional information about the chest wall abnormality, such as size and location.
• Biopsy:
  • After this information is collected, a biopsy of the abnormality is done to diagnose what the tumor is and to determine if the tumor is benign or malignant. The most common procedure is an aspiration biopsy, in which a needle is inserted into the tumor and cells are removed for examination. If it is too difficult to reach the tumor with a needle, you may need to undergo an open biopsy, which requires a small surgical incision and may leave a scar.