Malignant Mesothelioma of Spermatic Cord in an Elderly Man With a History of Asbestos Exposure

Our plain-English summary of Malignant Mesothelioma of Spermatic Cord in an Elderly Man With a History of Asbestos Exposure, by A. D'Antonio, F. Mastella, A. Colucci, et al (Urology, 2016).

The study

• Authors: A. D'Antonio, F. Mastella, A. Colucci, G. Silvestre
• Journal: Urology
• Published: 2016;87:e1-3
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

We report a case of malignant mesothelioma of the spermatic cord in 80-year-old man presented with retained testis, hydrocele, and right inguinal mass. The patient had a long history of asbestos exposure as a railway worker. The patient was submitted to inguinal radical orchiectomy. One year after surgery, the patient is alive without signs of disease. Malignant mesothelioma of spermatic cord is a very rare disease, but this diagnosis should be suspected in patient with a history of asbestos exposure.

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In plain English

This was a case report from pathology and urology units in Salerno, Italy, describing one 80-year-old man with a history of asbestos exposure as a railway worker. The article did not say which asbestos fiber types were involved or how much exposure he had. He had a painless mass in the right groin. Ultrasound showed a mass of the spermatic cord measuring 4.0 × 2.0 cm, along with an undescended testis and a hydrocele (fluid around the testis). Surgeons removed the right testis and spermatic cord through the groin (inguinal radical orchiectomy). The cord was diffusely enlarged, and the testis was not involved. Microscope and staining findings were consistent with malignant mesothelioma, and the cut edge of the removed cord was free of tumor. One year after surgery he was alive and free of disease. The authors wrote that only 11 such cases had been reported in the literature. They concluded that this cancer is very rare but should be suspected in patients with a history of asbestos exposure. As a single case, the report does not show how often this occurs.

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), published as a brief 'Images in Clinical Urology' item
• Who was studied: One 80-year-old man with a painless right groin (inguinal) mass, treated at institutions in Salerno, Italy. Dates of care were not given.
• Exposure: A history of asbestos exposure as a railway worker. Fiber types, duration and dose were not reported.
• Main results:
  • Ultrasound showed a 4.0 × 2.0 cm mass of the spermatic cord, with an undescended testis and a hydrocele
  • After removal, the spermatic cord was diffusely enlarged with a grayish cut surface, and the testis was not involved
  • Microscopic and immunohistochemical (staining) findings were consistent with malignant mesothelioma. The tumor stained positive for calretinin and vimentin, among other markers, and its cells reacted for Ck5/6
  • The surgical margin of the cord was free of tumor
  • One year after the operation, the patient was alive and free of disease
  • The authors stated that only 11 cases of malignant mesothelioma of the spermatic cord had been reported in the literature to date (a statement about published literature, not a finding of this case)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that malignant mesothelioma of the spermatic cord is a very rare disease, but that the diagnosis should be suspected in a patient with a history of asbestos exposure.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Malignant Mesothelioma, Spermatic Cord, Asbestos Exposure, Hydrocele, Orchiectomy.

Related studies

• Treatment of malignant tumors of the spermatic cord: a study of 10 cases and a review of the literature — P.H. Blitzer, D.E. Dosoretz, et al. (1981)
• Tumors of the spermatic cord: a review of the literature and a report of a case of lymphangioma — A.A. el-Badawi, M.M. al-Ghorab (1965)
• Mesothelioma of spermatic cord: electron microscopic and histochemical characteristics of its mucopolysaccharides — P. Pizzolato, J. Lamberty (1976)
• Carcinosarcoma of the spermatic cord — M. Nistal, F. Burgos, et al. (1990)
• Malignant Mesothelioma of the Tunica Vaginalis Testis: Outcomes Following Surgical Management Beyond Radical Orchiectomy — P. Recabal, B. Rosenzweig, et al. (2017)
• Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis: a case with an unusually indolent course following radical orchidectomy and radiotherapy — J.L. Harmse, A.T. Evans, et al. (1999)

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