Primary pulmonary meningioma: a case report and literature review.

INTRODUCTION AND

IMPORTANCE

We report the case of a 40-year-old asymptomatic woman with incidentally detected primary pulmonary meningioma (PPM), underscoring its relevance in the differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 40-year-old asymptomatic woman was found to have a left subpleural pulmonary nodule (11 × 9 × 8 mm) on routine follow-up imaging. Computed tomography findings and a preoperative needle biopsy suggested a diagnosis of meningioma. Video-assisted thoracoscopic resection of the left lower lobe was performed, and histopathological examination confirmed PPM. The postoperative course was uneventful, and no recurrence or metastasis was observed during follow-up.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Given the tumor's location and histological appearance, alternative diagnoses - including inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor - were excluded through immunohistochemical analysis. Surgical resection remains the definitive treatment for PPM, whereas the benefit of adjuvant therapy is unclear due to limited available evidence.

CONCLUSION

PPM usually presents as an asymptomatic, solitary, or occasionally multiple, well-circumscribed pulmonary nodule. Needle biopsy alone may result in misdiagnosis due to sampling limitations. Definitive diagnosis requires a combination of immunohistochemical analysis (e.g., SSTR2) and evaluation of the complete surgical specimen.