Benign Multicystic Peritoneal Mesothelioma (BMPM) as a rare cause of abdominal pain in a young male: case report and review of the literature

Our plain-English summary of Benign Multicystic Peritoneal Mesothelioma (BMPM) as a rare cause of abdominal pain in a young male: case report and review of the literature, by S. Gussago, P. Spina, A. Guerra (Journal of Surgical Case Reports, 2019).

The study

• Authors: S. Gussago, P. Spina, A. Guerra
• Journal: Journal of Surgical Case Reports
• Published: 2019;2019(3):rjz057
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 11 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Benign Multicystic Peritoneal Mesothelioma (BMPM) is a rare benign cystic neoplasm that arise from the peritoneum, typically found in young females (83%), with a high incidence of local recurrence after resection (almost 50% of cases). Fewer than 200 cases have been reported worldwide in 2017. Due to its rarity and the lack of a classical clinical presentation, the diagnosis pre-operatively is challenging; moreover a great part of the literature is composed of case reports and small group studies. Nowadays, guidelines are still not available, and treatment is en bloc resection of the lesion. Some authors suggest the use of Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) associated with the surgical approach, even if comparative data on recurrence and complications are lacking. We report a case of BMPM diagnosed in a 40-year-old male who underwent an exploratory laparoscopy and complete excision of the neoformation. Pathology confirmed the presence of a BMPM.

In plain English

This article was a case report from a hospital in Bellinzona, Switzerland, followed by a short discussion of earlier published reports. It described a 40-year-old Caucasian man with a history of smoking. He had occasional abdominal discomfort and then developed sharp pain in the right upper abdomen. Ultrasound showed a 9 cm cystic lesion in the right flank, and a CT scan showed a multi-lobed mass with thin internal walls. Surgeons removed the mass completely by laparoscopy, and he went home after 2 days without complications. The removed tissue measured about 13 by 9 by 4 cm and was made of many cysts up to 1 cm across. Under the microscope the cysts were lined by mesothelial cells without abnormal features, and the cells stained for WT1 and calretinin. The final diagnosis was benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma. Yearly MRI follow-up was suggested. The article did not mention asbestos. The authors noted that this condition is particularly uncommon in young men with no past abdominal surgery. They suggested gathering cases in national reference centers so that targeted studies could begin.

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 with a brief narrative discussion of the literature
• Who was studied: one 40-year-old Caucasian male patient with a history of smoking, treated at Ospedale Regionale di Bellinzona e Valli, Switzerland
• Exposure: The article does not mention asbestos or any occupational exposure. The only history it reports is smoking, and the patient had no history of past abdominal surgery.
• Main results:
  • In this patient, abdominal ultrasound showed a polycystic lesion 9 cm in diameter in the right flank
  • In this patient, CT showed a multi-lobed, low-density mass with multiple thin internal walls
  • In this patient, the mass was completely removed by laparoscopy, and he was discharged after 2 days without complications
  • The removed specimen from this patient measured about 13 by 9 by 4 cm and was made of multiple cysts
  • In this patient, the cysts were lined by mesothelial cells without atypia, and all tumor cells were positive for WT1 and calretinin
  • This patient's final diagnosis was multicystic benign mesothelioma
  • For this patient, yearly MRI follow-up was suggested, with cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC if the disease came back
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that it is particularly uncommon to find BMPM in young male patients without previous abdominal surgery. They suggested that centralizing cases in National Reference Centers could increase patient numbers and allow targeted studies.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that the extreme rarity of the condition is the main barrier to an evidence-based approach to treatment

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Peritoneal Mesothelioma, Neoplasm, Peritoneum, HIPEC, Pathology.

Related studies

• Benign Multicystic Peritoneal Mesothelioma (BMPM) as a rare cause of abdominal pain: a case report and review of the literature — H.B. Hassine, M. Touati, et al. (2025)
• Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma: a rare cause of intra-abdominal cystic disease — B. Campbell, D. Mehanna, et al. (2017)
• Multicystic benign mesothelioma of the pelvic peritoneum presenting as acute abdominal pain in a young woman — J.H. Hong, S. Jeon, et al. (2013)
• Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma (BMPM) presenting with ambiguous symptoms: A rare case report — A. Hamza, A. Zazo, et al. (2021)
• 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 Multicystic Peritoneal Mesothelioma in a Male Patient with Previous Wilms' Tumor: A Case Report and Review of the Literature — G.L. Canu, F. Medas, et al. (2018)

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