Coexistence of a malignant fibrous histiocytoma and asbestos exposure. Brief report

Our plain-English summary of Coexistence of a malignant fibrous histiocytoma and asbestos exposure. Brief report, by T. Kishimoto (Pathobiology, 1992).

The study

• Author: T. Kishimoto
• Journal: Pathobiology
• Published: 1992;60(6):332-4
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A 59-year-old male died of malignant fibrous histiocytoma. He had a history of asbestos exposure as a shipfitter in the Japanese Naval Shipyard and other shipyards for 45 years. Numerous asbestos bodies were detected in the autopsied lung and within the lesion. X-ray analysis of the asbestos fibers showed them to be crocidolite, a type of asbestos fiber commonly seen in association with mesothelioma and other types of cancer. This case adds malignant fibrous histiocytoma to the growing number of tumors that can be attributed etiologically to asbestos exposure.

In plain English

This brief report described a single patient: a 59-year-old man seen at Kure Kyosai Hospital in Japan. He had worked as a shipfitter in the Japanese Naval Shipyard and other shipyards for 45 years (1942 to 1987), with occupational asbestos exposure. He had also smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 45 years. A chest X-ray showed a large amount of fluid around the lung and thickening of the pleura, the lining of the lung. A pleural biopsy was diagnosed as malignant fibrous histiocytoma, a soft tissue sarcoma, rather than mesothelioma, based on the tumor's microscopic pattern and staining. He died of heart failure on the 53rd day after admission. Autopsy showed the tumor began in the right pleura and had spread widely. Hyaline pleural plaques were also seen. Testing of 5 grams of left lung tissue found 15,335 asbestos bodies, which the author described as far higher than expected. Most fibers analyzed were identified as crocidolite. Noting that only one case was reported, the author suggested that long-standing asbestos exposure should be considered a possible causal factor for malignant fibrous histiocytoma.

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 (single patient, with autopsy and lung fiber analysis)
• Who was studied: one 59-year-old man treated at Kure Kyosai Hospital, Kure, Japan
• Exposure: occupational asbestos exposure as a shipfitter in the Japanese Naval Shipyard and other shipyards for 45 years (1942 to 1987); fibers found in the lung were mostly crocidolite
• Main results:
  • The patient also had a smoking history of 20 cigarettes a day for 45 years.
  • Chest X-ray showed massive pleural effusion and pleural thickening in the upper lung field.
  • The tumor's microscopic and staining features were judged consistent with malignant fibrous histiocytoma, not malignant mesothelioma.
  • The patient died of heart failure on the 53rd day after admission.
  • At autopsy the tumor originated from the right pleura and had spread to many structures. Hyaline pleural plaques were observed.
  • 15,335 asbestos bodies were counted in 5 g of tissue from the left lung.
  • The author stated that this count was far higher than expected under the criteria of Churg and Warnock.
  • By X-ray analysis, most of the asbestos fibers in the lung were identified as crocidolite.
• The authors' conclusion: The author suggested that long-standing asbestos exposure should be considered a possible etiologic (causal) factor in the development of malignant fibrous histiocytoma.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Only one case was reported.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Bodies, Crocidolite, Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the lung in a patient with a history of asbestos exposure — A.C. Reifsnyder, H.J. Smith, et al. (1990)
• So-called sclerosing hemangioma of the lung. Evidence for mesothelial origin — A.L. Katzenstein, D.L. Weise, et al. (1983)
• Pulmonary crystal-storing histiocytoma in a patient without a lymphoproliferative disorder — W.S. Lee, S.R. Kim, et al. (2009)
• Fatal asbestosis 50 years after brief high intensity exposure in a vermiculite expansion plant — R.S. Wright, J.L. Abraham, et al. (2002)
• Asbestosis following brief exposure in cigarette filter manufacture — A.M. Goff, E.A. Gaensler (1972)
• Coexistence of diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma and Candida norvegensis peritonitis — E. Virgilio, P. Mercantini, et al. (2014)

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