The chest cavity—which houses the lungs, heart, and other vital body parts—is a bone and muscle cage that is framed by the sternum (breastplate), spine, and ribs. The wall of the chest cavity provides rigid protection for your heart, lungs, and liver, but also is flexible to aid in respiration. It is made up of structures, including the rib cage, diaphragm, and abdomen. Like any other part of your body, your chest wall is susceptible to tumours.
Cells are the building blocks that make up the tissue and organs in your body. Old or damaged cells usually die and new cells take their place. But sometimes, the process goes wrong or a single cell starts to grow uncontrollably until it becomes a mass of tissue called a tumour.
Sometimes, tumours are non-cancerous (benign) and are not life threatening; other times, the tumours are cancerous (malignant) and can invade surrounding tissues or spread to other areas of the body.
TYPES OF CHEST WALL TUMOURS
Tumours can arise from any different type of cell, including bone, muscle, and nerve cells. Non-cancerous chest wall tumours are relatively common and are treated only when they cause problems, such as breathing difficulties or pain. Cancerous chest wall tumours are rare and must be treated.
Non-cancerous tumors include:
- osteochondroma
- chondroma
- fibrous dysplasia
These types of tumors tend to run in families, but most present no cause for alarm and often remain undetected.
Cancerous tumors are usually sarcomas, which originate from soft tissue, cartilage, and/or bone in the chest. These cancerous tumors are categorized into two groups, depending on their origin:
- primary
- secondary
Primary tumours begin in the chest. Secondary tumours have spread (metastasize) from other parts of the body or directly extend into the chest wall from an adjacent breast or lung cancer.
CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF CHEST WALL TUMOURS
It is unclear what causes chest wall tumours, although diet, lifestyle choices, and hereditary factors are believed to play a role.
Soft-tissue chest wall tumours don’t usually cause symptoms until the tumour is advanced. Tumours that are made up of cartilage or bone often cause pain, swelling, and impaired movement.
Chest x-rays can show whether or not you have an abnormality in your chest wall; however, x-rays are usually unable to distinguish benign tumours from malignant tumours.
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OPTIONS
Computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) usually can zero in on the location and size of the tumour, as well as give some information about what type of tumour it is.
After a chest wall tumour is detected, your physician may want a biopsy to get more information about what type of tumour you have.
The most common procedure is an aspiration biopsy, where a needle is inserted into the tumour and cells are removed for examination. If it is too difficult to reach the tumour with a needle, you may need to undergo an open biopsy, which requires a small surgical incision and may leave a scar.
For more information on these tests, visit our common diagnostic tests page.
Your treatment plan will take into account the type of chest wall tumour you have, its size, and location. Malignant chest wall tumours may require a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and/or surgery.
If surgery is required, you also may need chest wall (ribs) or soft-tissue (muscle and skin) reconstruction so that your chest looks and functions normally.
https://ctsurgerypatients.org/lung-esophageal-and-other-chest-diseases/chest-wall-tumors