Diffuse meningeal thickening associated with pleural mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Diffuse meningeal thickening associated with pleural mesothelioma, by M. Huncharek, J. Muscat (Thorax, 1990).

The study

• Authors: M. Huncharek, J. Muscat
• Journal: Thorax
• Published: 1990;45(7):571
• Type of article: Case report, Comment, Letter
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 003645).

In plain English

This item is a letter to the editor, not a new study. The authors responded to a report by Dr J B Murray and others of diffuse spinal metastases in a patient with pleural mesothelioma. The letter summarised two earlier publications by the same authors. In a 1987 autopsy study of 42 pleural mesothelioma cases, distant metastases were found in 32 (76%). Common sites were the opposite lung, kidney, liver and adrenals, and spread showed no relation to the tumour's histological type. The authors also described a lift mechanic with pleural mesothelioma whose brain metastasis was seen on a head CT scan before death. The patient died one month later, and autopsy confirmed mesothelioma. The authors called this the third report of a brain metastasis in mesothelioma recognised before death. Murray's patient and a patient described by Reichel were both roofing contractors. The authors wrote that these reports suggest a possible mesothelioma hazard in this occupational group. They added that patients' potential asbestos exposure should be vigorously investigated, because risk is not confined to asbestos industry workers such as miners and insulators.

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: Letter to the editor commenting on a published case report, summarising the authors' own earlier necropsy (autopsy) study and case report
• Who was studied: From the authors' earlier work: 42 cases of pleural mesothelioma reviewed at necropsy (1987 study), and a single case of pleural mesothelioma in a lift mechanic. The letter also discusses a roofing contractor reported by Murray and others and one reported by Reichel.
• Exposure: Potential asbestos exposure outside the asbestos industry, raised in relation to roofing contractors and a lift mechanic. No fiber types, products or doses are given.
• Main results:
  • In the authors' 1987 necropsy study of 42 pleural mesothelioma cases, distant metastases were found in 32 (76%)
  • Common sites of metastatic spread in that study were the contralateral lung, kidney, liver and adrenals
  • No relation between histological type and distant metastases was found in that study
  • In the lift mechanic case, computed tomography of the head showed a metastasis in the left frontal area. The patient died one month later, and necropsy confirmed mesothelioma.
  • The authors described the lift mechanic case as the third report of a brain metastasis in malignant mesothelioma recognised before death
  • The patient reported by Murray and others and the patient reported by Reichel were both roofing contractors
• The authors' conclusion: The authors wrote that these reports suggest the possibility of a mesothelioma hazard among roofing contractors. They also wrote that potential asbestos exposure should be vigorously investigated in patients with this tumour, because risk is not confined to asbestos industry workers such as miners and insulators.

Topics

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

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

Related studies

• Meningeal and brain metastases in primary malignant pericardial mesothelioma — U. Bohn, J.L. Gonzalez, et al. (1994)
• Asbestosis, pleural plaques and diffuse pleural thickening: three distinct benign responses to asbestos exposure — P.A. Gevenois, V. de Maertelaer, et al. (1998)
• Diffuse pleural thickening in asbestos workers: disability and lung function abnormalities — C.R. McGavin, G. Sheers (1984)
• Causes of pulmonary impairment in asbestos-exposed individuals with diffuse pleural thickening — S.T. Kee, G. Gamsu, et al. (1996)
• Clinical consequences of asbestos-related diffuse pleural thickening: A review — S.E. Miles, A. Sandrini, et al. (2008)
• Asbestos-related lesions of the pleura: parietal plaques compared to diffuse thickening studied with chest roentgenography, computed tomography, lung function, and gas exchange — G. Hillerdal, P. Malmberg, et al. (1990)

Browse more research in Thorax, or return to medical research.