Malignant lymphoma involving the penis following malignant pleural mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Malignant lymphoma involving the penis following malignant pleural mesothelioma, by K. Takabe, Y. Tsukada, T. Shimizu, et al (Internal Medicine, 1997).

The study

• Authors: K. Takabe, Y. Tsukada, T. Shimizu, J. Takagiwa, M. Hirayama, M. Nakayama, H. Miura, H. Akabane, S. Takayama, S. Aida, Y. Kimura
• Journal: Internal Medicine
• Published: 1997;36(10):712-5
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A 74-year-old man who had been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma developed malignant lymphoma of B-cell origin involving the penis. He had a history of occupational exposure to asbestos as a construction worker. The association of malignant mesothelioma with lymphoma is rare, and the possibility of asbestos exposure as a common etiology is discussed. The intense stimulation of B lymphocytes and decreased T lymphocyte activity in asbestos-exposed populations may result in development of B-cell malignancies. Though the relationship between asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma is firmly established, the relationship between asbestos exposure and lymphoma remains to be investigated.

In plain English

This case report describes a 74-year-old man, a former construction worker with a history of occupational asbestos exposure, who developed malignant lymphoma of B-cell origin involving the penis after a diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. His illness began with breathlessness on exertion and fluid around the right lung. He was first treated for presumed pleural tuberculosis. A repeat pleural biopsy in May 1992 showed malignant mesothelioma of the epithelial type. In July 1993 he was admitted with penile pain and swelling at the base of the penis. A biopsy showed malignant lymphoma of diffuse mixed type with B-lymphocyte markers, and a CT scan showed enlarged abdominal lymph nodes. After two courses of chemotherapy the swelling improved. Treatment was stopped because of abnormal sensations in both legs. He died of respiratory failure from progressing mesothelioma in November 1993, and autopsy was not permitted. The article does not name a fiber type, and the authors said they lacked information on the asbestos content of the penile tumor tissue. The authors said the lymphoma may have had another cause. They concluded that the site's distance from the lungs does not rule out an asbestos link, and that the relationship between asbestos exposure and lymphoma remains to be investigated.

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)
• Who was studied: One 74-year-old man with malignant mesothelioma, admitted to hospital in July 1993; the authors are affiliated with Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital, Kanagawa, among other institutions
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure as a construction worker; fiber type and amount not reported
• Main results:
  • After initial treatment for presumed pleural tuberculosis, a repeat pleural biopsy in May 1992 showed malignant mesothelioma of the epithelial type
  • A biopsy of the penile tumor showed malignant lymphoma of diffuse mixed type
  • The lymphoma cells carried B-lymphocyte surface markers
  • Abdominal CT showed enlarged para-aortic and splenic hilar lymph nodes
  • After two courses of chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone), penile swelling improved; chemotherapy was stopped because of paresthesias in both legs
  • The patient died of respiratory failure from progression of malignant mesothelioma in November 1993; autopsy was not permitted
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that an asbestos association with the lymphoma cannot be denied because of the remoteness of the site, while the relationship between asbestos exposure and lymphoma remains to be investigated
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors lacked information on the asbestos content of the penile tumor tissue
  • The authors acknowledged the lymphoma may have resulted from a cause other than asbestos
  • No autopsy was performed

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, Malignant Mesothelioma, Occupational Exposure, Asbestos Exposure, Etiology.

Related studies

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• Hemangioma-lymphangioma of the bladder in a child: report of a case with associated hemangiomas of the external genitalia — K.E. Stanley (1966)
• High expression of methionine aminopeptidase type 2 in germinal center B cells and their neoplastic counterparts — T. Kanno, H. Endo, et al. (2002)
• Monoclonal antibody HBME-1 reacts with a minor subset of B cells with villous surface and can be useful in the diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia and other indolent lymphoproliferations of villous B lymphocytes — L. Krenács, J. Tóth-Lipták, et al. (2013)
• Central photopenic lesions on FDG-PET scan in a patient with peripheral T cell lymphoma — A. Mavi, T. Dhuriraj, et al. (2008)
• Occult primary cardiac lymphomas causing unexpected/sudden death or acute heart failure — A. De Martino, F. Del Re, et al. (2020)

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