Fertility preservation in a patient with benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Fertility preservation in a patient with benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma, by Z.A. Al-Safi, B.H. Edil, M.D. Post, et al (Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2014).

The study

• Authors: Z.A. Al-Safi, B.H. Edil, M.D. Post, N.W. Pearlman, R. Alvero
• Journal: Journal of Surgical Oncology
• Published: 2014;110(4):372-4
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma (BMPM) is a rare peritoneal tumor. Surgery is the only effective treatment for BMPM, and affected tissues occasionally must be sacrificed to achieve adequate debulking. A 25-year-old female was diagnosed with BMPM. She was counseled on fertility preservation and had oocyte cryopreservation prior to her debulking. Fertility preservation through embryo or oocyte cryopreservation is a valuable option for patients at risk of losing reproductive tissues during extensive surgery and chemotherapy.

© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In plain English

This article is a case report from the University of Colorado about one patient with benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma (BMPM), a rare tumor of the peritoneum, the lining of the abdomen. The article does not mention asbestos. A 25-year-old woman who had never been pregnant came to an emergency department with sudden severe upper abdominal pain. A diagnostic laparoscopy found multiple cysts throughout her abdomen, and a biopsy was compatible with multicystic mesothelioma. Treatment might lead to removal of her uterus or ovaries, and chemotherapy into the abdomen was planned. The patient was counseled on fertility preservation and chose egg banking. Ten eggs were retrieved, seven of them mature, and these were frozen. Surgery then removed approximately 20 to 30 cysts, along with the spleen, omentum and gallbladder. It was followed by 60 minutes of heated doxorubicin and cisplatin given inside the abdomen. Pathology showed no invasion or nuclear atypia. Estradiol peaked at 1,344 pg/ml before egg retrieval, and this did not appear to affect disease progression or her symptoms before her surgery. The patient did well after surgery. The authors concluded that freezing eggs or embryos is a valuable option for BMPM patients facing extensive surgery and chemotherapy.

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 (one patient)
• Who was studied: One 25-year-old woman who had never been pregnant, with benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma, treated at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
• Exposure: No asbestos or other environmental or occupational exposure is reported; the article does not discuss asbestos
• Main results:
  • Diagnostic laparoscopy found multiple cysts throughout the patient's abdomen; a biopsy was compatible with multicystic mesothelioma
  • After ovarian stimulation, ten eggs (oocytes) were retrieved, seven of them mature, and these were frozen
  • Cytoreductive surgery removed approximately 20 to 30 cysts from multiple areas of the peritoneal cavity
  • Surgery was followed by 60 minutes of heated intraperitoneal doxorubicin and cisplatin
  • Pathology showed no invasion into pre-existing structures and no nuclear atypia
  • The patient's estradiol peaked at 1,344 pg/ml before egg retrieval; this did not appear to affect disease progression or symptoms before her surgery
  • The patient did well after surgery and her pain was controlled medically
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that fertility preservation by embryo or egg freezing is a valuable option for patients with BMPM before extensive surgery and chemotherapy that can affect reproductive function, and that short-term elevated estrogen during ovarian stimulation appears to be safe in these patients

Topics

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

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