Benign cystic mesothelioma of the liver: A rare hepatic cyst

Our plain-English summary of Benign cystic mesothelioma of the liver: A rare hepatic cyst, by W. Wang, H.Y. Lai, I.W. Chang (Surgery, 2021).

The study

• Authors: W. Wang, H.Y. Lai, I.W. Chang
• Journal: Surgery
• Published: 2021;170(6):e27-e28
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This article was a case report, written as a diagnostic quiz, about one 66-year-old woman treated at Taipei Medical University Hospital in Taiwan. She had upper abdominal pain and right chest tightness for 2 weeks. A CT scan showed a 15 cm fluid-filled (cystic) mass in the left upper abdomen. Her laboratory tests, including tumor markers, were within normal range. During laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery, a single large cyst was found on the surface of the liver. It was opened and its fluid drained. Under the microscope, the cyst was lined by a single layer of flattened to cuboidal cells. These cells tested positive for calretinin, WT-1 and D2-40, which the authors said indicated mesothelial cells. The diagnosis was benign cystic mesothelioma of the liver, which the authors described as a benign condition also known as peritoneal inclusion cyst. The authors stated that it is extremely rare in the liver, with only 1 case reported in the literature. The article does not mention asbestos or any other exposure.

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 report (presented as a diagnostic image quiz)
• Who was studied: one 66-year-old woman with 2 weeks of upper abdominal pain and right chest tightness, seen at the authors' hospital (Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taiwan); dates of care not given
• Exposure: No asbestos or other exposure is mentioned in the article
• Main results:
  • CT showed a 15 cm low-attenuation, nonenhancing cystic mass in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen
  • Laboratory data, including tumor markers, were all within normal range
  • The cyst was treated by laparoscopic fenestration combined with aspiration of the cyst fluid
  • The cells lining the cyst were positive for calretinin, WT-1 and D2-40, which the authors said indicated their mesothelial nature
  • Pathological examination diagnosed a benign cystic mesothelioma (BCM) of the liver
  • The authors described BCM as a benign condition also known as peritoneal inclusion cyst
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that benign cystic mesothelioma of the liver is extremely rare, with only 1 case reported in the literature

Topics

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

Related studies

• A rare case of benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma misdiagnosed as hydatid cyst found in the liver parenchyma and abdomen cavity of a male with asbestos exposure — A.B. Kelarji, M.S. Alshutaihi, et al. (2021)
• Benign cystic mesothelioma of the liver — P. Flemming, T. Becker, et al. (2002)
• Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma: a rare cause of intra-abdominal cystic disease — B. Campbell, D. Mehanna, et al. (2017)
• Giant benign cystic peritoneal mesothelioma: US, CT, and MRI findings — A. Ozgen, D. Akata, et al. (1998)
• Benign cystic mesothelioma of the peritoneum in a child-case report and review of the literature — V.C. Shakya, C.S. Agrawal, et al. (2011)
• Benign cystic mesothelioma associated with ipsilateral renal agenesis: a case report and review of literature — D. Murro, A. Harbhajanka, et al. (2014)

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