Solitary fibrous tumor of the parapharyngeal space: a case report and review of the literature.

Solitary fibrous tumors are uncommon spindle cell neoplasms generally associated with serosal surfaces, especially the pleura. Recently, these tumors have been documented in a number of extrapleural sites including the head and neck. So far only two cases of parapharyngeal solitary fibrous tumor have been reported in the English literature. Rare location of an uncommon lesion often gives rise to difficulty in diagnosis or to misdiagnosis. In both the previously reported cases, as well as in our case, the diagnosis of solitary fibrous tumor was not made until the excised tumor was subjected to histopathology and immunohistochemistry.