Treatment

In most cases surgery is the only treatment necessary. Surgeons remove the tumor and a small margin of healthy tissue that surrounds it. The type of operation used to remove a solitary fibrous tumor depends on where the tumor occurs.

If the entire tumor can't be removed, your doctor might suggest radiation therapy. Sometimes, radiation therapy is used before surgery to shrink the tumor. This increases the chances that the entire tumor can be removed. Chemotherapy is another treatment option, particularly if the tumor has spread to other parts of your body.

Targeted medications

Certain drugs target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and other tyrosine kinase signaling pathways. These pathways disrupt the blood supply to the tumor, and have recently begun to be used to treat advanced solitary fibrous tumors to slow their progression. Examples of these drugs include bevacizumab (Avastin), sunitinib (Sutent), pazopanib (Votrient) and sorafenib (Nexavar).