Could development of malignant mesothelioma be induced by Yersinia enterocolitica infection?

Our plain-English summary of Could development of malignant mesothelioma be induced by Yersinia enterocolitica infection?, by A. Saebø, K. Elgjo, J. Lassen (Medical Hypotheses, 1993).

The study

• Authors: A. Saebø, K. Elgjo, J. Lassen
• Journal: Medical Hypotheses
• Published: 1993;40(5):275-7
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Two out of 458 hospitalized patients with Yersinia enterocolitica infection developed malignant mesothelioma of pleura viz. pericard; both died after a few months. Malignant mesothelioma of the pleura is commonly related to asbestos exposure, whereas pericardiac mesothelioma is an extremely uncommon neoplasm. The possible promotion of malignant mesothelioma by the Yersinia enterocolitica infection should not be disregarded, as the infection may launch chronic immunological reactions resembling those observed among asbestos workers.

In plain English

This short Norwegian hypothesis paper described two cases of malignant mesothelioma found among 458 patients hospitalized with Yersinia enterocolitica infection between 1974 and 1983 and followed until 1987. The first patient, a 61-year-old woman, fell ill in December 1982 with fluid around the right lung. A strong antibody response indicated Y. enterocolitica serogroup O:3 infection. A tumour grew near the pleura of the upper lung lobe, and she died of respiratory failure after 4 months. Tests done in 1991 supported a mesothelial tumour. The second patient, a 34-year-old woman, fell ill in 1975. Surgery found a tumour of the pericardium (the sac around the heart) that had spread to the lungs, and she died during the operation. Her tumour was consistent with malignant mesothelioma, and an antibody titre of 640 against serogroup O:3 had been recorded. The authors stated that neither woman had been exposed to asbestos and that two cases among 458 patients would be statistically very unlikely. They concluded they could not rule out that the infection promoted these cancers. The paper describes two individual cases and does not measure a rate.

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: Hypothesis paper presenting two case reports drawn from a previously studied group of hospitalized patients
• Who was studied: 458 patients hospitalized at 52 Norwegian hospitals with Yersinia enterocolitica infection diagnosed 1974-83 and followed until 1987. Two of them, women aged 61 and 34, developed malignant mesothelioma and are described as cases.
• Exposure: Yersinia enterocolitica infection (serogroup O:3 in both cases). The authors state that the two patients had not been exposed to asbestos. No fiber types are involved.
• Main results:
  • Malignant mesothelioma developed in 2 of the 458 hospitalized Y. enterocolitica patients.
  • Case 1 (61-year-old woman): she had a right-sided pleural exudate and a strong antibody response to Y. enterocolitica serogroup O:3. A tumour developed near the pleura of the superior lung lobe, and she died of respiratory failure after 4 months.
  • Case 1: the original diagnosis was a malignant tumour, possibly malignant mesothelioma. Immunohistochemistry performed in 1991 supported the mesothelial nature of the tumour.
  • Case 2 (34-year-old woman): thoracotomy revealed a pericardiac tumour with pulmonary metastases, and she died on the operating table. The tumour was consistent with malignant mesothelioma.
  • Case 2: an agglutination titre of 640 against Y. enterocolitica serogroup O:3 had been recorded before death, which the authors took to indicate actual or recent infection.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors judged it statistically very unlikely that 2 of 458 patients would develop malignant mesothelioma. They did not disregard the possibility that Y. enterocolitica infection might have promoted the malignancy in these 2 cases.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • In Case 1, ultrastructural typing of the tumour was not possible because the tumour tissue was poorly preserved.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Pleura, Asbestos Exposure, Mesothelioma, Neoplasm.

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