Laparoscopic excision of a benign peritoneal cystic mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Laparoscopic excision of a benign peritoneal cystic mesothelioma, by A. Limone, J. Maier, V. Chiantera, et al (Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2010).

The study

• Authors: A. Limone, J. Maier, V. Chiantera, S. Elezkurtaj, H.D. Foss, A. Schneider
• Journal: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics
• Published: 2010;281(3):577-8
• Type of article: Case report, Letter
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Benign cystic peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare tumor and most commonly occurs in women in the reproductive age group. It is very rare in women of postmenopausal age. We present a rare case of a postmenopausal woman with benign peritoneal cystic mesothelioma removed at laparoscopy.

In plain English

This article is a letter to the editor describing a single patient (a case report). Citing earlier literature, the authors noted that benign cystic peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare tumor that most often occurs in women of reproductive age and is very rare after menopause. The patient was a 61-year-old woman who had had three pregnancies and three births and complained of intermittent lower abdominal pain. A vaginal ultrasound showed 50 ml of peritoneal fluid in the pouch of Douglas, a space in the lower abdomen. Routine tests were normal except for a raised Ca 15-3 level (31.8 UI/ml). During exploratory laparoscopy (keyhole surgery), surgeons found a 4 cm cyst in the right ovarian fossa and removed it intact. Laboratory examination, including immunohistochemistry, gave findings consistent with a benign cystic mesothelioma, also called a multilocular peritoneal inclusion cyst. The patient recovered without problems and went home on the second day after surgery. The authors concluded that this tumor can be safely removed by a minimally invasive approach. The letter does not mention asbestos or any exposure history for this patient.

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 (letter to the editor)
• Who was studied: one 61-year-old postmenopausal woman, gravida 3 para 3, with intermittent lower abdominal pain; place and date of treatment not stated
• Exposure: Not reported; the letter does not mention asbestos or any occupational or environmental exposure for this patient
• Main results:
  • Vaginal ultrasound showed 50 ml of peritoneal fluid in the pouch of Douglas
  • Routine tests were normal except for an elevated Ca 15-3 (31.8 UI/ml)
  • At laparoscopy a pedunculated cyst, 4 cm in diameter, was found in the right ovarian fossa and was removed intact by endobag
  • Immunohistochemistry was positive for CK5/6 and WT1 and partially positive for calretinin and HBME1; the findings were consistent with benign cystic mesothelioma (multilocular peritoneal inclusion cyst)
  • The patient had an uneventful recovery and was discharged on the second postoperative day
• The authors' conclusion: The authors believe that excision of a benign peritoneal cystic mesothelioma can be safely performed through a minimally invasive approach

Topics

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

Related studies

• A recurrence of benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma treated through laparoscopic excision: a case report and review of the literature — T.D. Witek, J.W. Marchese, et al. (2014)
• Laparoscopic diagnosis and treatment of pelvic benign multicystic mesothelioma associated with high CA19.9 serum concentration — V. Pinto, A.C. Rossi, et al. (2010)
• Peritoneal cystic mesothelioma treated with minimally invasive approach — G. Navarra, S. Occhionorelli, et al. (1996)
• Pediatric Benign Cystic Peritoneal Mesothelioma — J. Durell, H. Dagash, et al. (2016)
• Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma: a rare cause of intra-abdominal cystic disease — B. Campbell, D. Mehanna, et al. (2017)
• Long-term results of laparoscopic cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC for the curative treatment of low-grade pseudomyxoma peritonei and multicystic mesothelioma — F. Mercier, G. Jeremie, et al. (2020)

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