Benign cystic mesothelioma: a case series with one case complicated by pregnancy

Our plain-English summary of Benign cystic mesothelioma: a case series with one case complicated by pregnancy, by O. Akbayir, A. Gedikbasi, A. Akyol, et al (The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, 2011).

The study

• Authors: O. Akbayir, A. Gedikbasi, A. Akyol, C. Numanoglu, N. Koroglu, A. Gulkilik
• Journal: The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research
• Published: 2011;37(8):1126-31
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 10 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Benign cystic mesothelioma (BCM) is a rare tumor of unknown origin, most frequently encountered in women of reproductive age and with unknown etiology. Most patients have a history of previous pelvic operation, endometriosis, or pelvic inflammatory disease. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult. We report the cases of three patients, with one case complicated by pregnancy, and discuss the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of this rare disease. Complete surgical resection is recommended if feasible. However, recurrent disease is not uncommon. Clinical positive effects of different adjuvant medical treatments are also discussed.

© 2011 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2011 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In plain English

This article was a case series from a maternity and children's hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, describing three women with benign cystic mesothelioma, a rare tumor of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen). The article did not mention asbestos or any other exposure. The first woman, aged 34, had had pelvic surgery for endometriosis two years earlier. The second, aged 32, had no prior surgery. In the third, aged 38, a cystic mass was found by chance during a cesarean delivery. All three tumors were removed surgically, and the first two women also had their appendix removed. Under the microscope the cysts were lined by flat to low cuboidal cells with no atypia or mitoses. The authors' table recorded no evidence of disease at 40, 34 and 37 months of follow-up. The authors concluded that, because the condition is rare, there are uncertainties about the best treatment and follow-up. They also concluded that in the pregnancy case, complete surgical removal was enough to give a lengthy disease-free period.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case series (three case reports)
• Who was studied: Three women aged 34, 32 and 38 with benign cystic mesothelioma of the peritoneum, treated at Istanbul Bakirkoy Maternity and Children Diseases Hospital, Turkey. Dates of treatment are not given.
• Exposure: None studied. The article does not mention asbestos or any fiber exposure. Medical histories reported were: prior pelvic surgery for endometriosis (case 1), an unremarkable history (case 2), and hysterosalpingography and hysteroscopy for infertility (case 3).
• Main results:
  • Case 1 (34 years old) had pelvic surgery for endometriosis 2 years earlier. She had a 10 by 9 cm cystic mass in the left pelvis, and the greater omentum was most extensively involved. It was treated with omentectomy, unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, pelvic peritonectomy and appendectomy.
  • Case 2 (32 years old, no prior surgery) had a 49 by 44 mm cystic mass in the left pelvis. It was removed with surrounding peritoneum, and an appendectomy was also performed. She remained free of symptoms after 34 months of follow-up.
  • Case 3 (38-year-old first pregnancy) had a multicystic mass of 9 by 7 cm, found incidentally in the right paracolic region during cesarean section. It was totally resected, and postoperative pathology defined it as benign cystic mesothelioma.
  • On microscopy, the cysts were lined by flat-to-low cuboidal cells with no atypia or mitoses. The lining cells stained positive for cytokeratin and calretinin.
  • Table 1 lists all three patients as having no evidence of disease at 40, 34 and 37 months of follow-up. The authors described this as a minimum 3-year disease-free period for all three, with no malignant transformation.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, because this condition is rare, there are uncertainties in the literature about the optimal treatment and follow-up. They stated that in their cases, including the one found at cesarean delivery, complete surgical removal was sufficient to achieve a lengthy disease-free period.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Etiology, Surgical Resection.

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