Discussion
Diagnosis With Brief Discussion
- Diagnosis
- Localized malignant mesothelioma (epithelioid type)
- Radiologic Findings
- The patient has been a building dismantler for 7 years.
Initial chest X-ray showed two, well circumscribed, oval opacities in right upper and lower chest.
Three well-demarcated enhancing pleural masses, seen in the right upper and lower posterior regions on chest CT scans were all proved as malignant mesothelioma (figure). PET-CT scan demonstrated four hypermetabolic pleural nodules.
- Brief Review
- Localized malignant mesothelioma (LMM) is an extremely rare, solitary, and well-circumscribed tumor arising from the serosa. Classified as a separate entity among the pleural tumors in the 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) classification, it is rare and little is known about its behavior. LMM usually has microscopic appearance of malignant mesothelioma, but without any evidence of diffuse spread. The diagnosis of LMM can only be distinguished pathologically in localized pleural mass, showed at CT scan and confirmed as localized uptake at FDG-PET.
Generally approached by aggressive surgery, it follows a better course than diffuse form.
There are relatively few detailed accounts of the histology of localized tumors. Most seem to be predominantly fibrous, but with varying cellularity. Epithelium-type predominates, while biphasic or purely sarcomatous forms are infrequent.
Evidence of a significant association with asbestos exposure has not been recorded.
The small number of reported cases makes it difficult to determine whether LMM is a separate clinical entity or simply a diffuse malignant mesothelioma diagnosed at an early stage or with a different pathologic presentation.
- References
- 1. Nakas A, Martin-Ucar AE, Edwards JG, Waller DA. Localised malignant pleural mesothelioma: a separate clinical entity requiring aggressive local surgery. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2008;33(2):303-306
2. Tanzi S, et al. Localized malignant pleural mesothelioma:report of two cases. J Thorac Oncol 2009;4(8):1038-40
- Keywords
- Pleura, Malignant tumor,