Malignant pleural mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Malignant pleural mesothelioma, by S. Rao (Lung India, 2009).

The study

• Author: S. Rao
• Journal: Lung India
• Published: 2009;26(2):53-4
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Malignant mesothelioma is one of the rare tumors of pleura. One such case in a 57-year-old male, who presented with hemorrhagic pleural effusion and had no history of asbestos exposure, is reported here. The rarity, unusual presentation, and implications are discussed.

In plain English

This was a case report of one patient, a 57-year-old man, written by an author from the Department of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases at Yenepoya Medical College, Mangalore, India. The article states that he had no history of asbestos exposure. He had a smoking index of 250 and diabetes under regular treatment. For 15 days he had been breathless on exertion and had left-sided chest pain. A chest X-ray showed fluid around the left lung (pleural effusion). The fluid drawn off was bloody, and laboratory examination found no acid-fast bacilli and no malignant or abnormal cells. A CT scan suggested a probable infection, so he was started on tuberculosis treatment without a confirmed diagnosis. On the fourth day his breathlessness became severe and the effusion massive. A chest drain was placed, and the fluid showed no cancer cells on three consecutive examinations. A lung biopsy taken during open chest surgery confirmed mesothelioma, and the tissue suggested the epithelial type. The author stated that the rarity, the absence of asbestos exposure and the unusual presentation prompted the report.

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 57-year-old man with left-sided pleural effusion, reported from Yenepoya Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India; smoking index 250; diabetic under regular treatment
• Exposure: The article states the patient had no history of asbestos exposure; no fiber type or occupation is described. He had a smoking index of 250.
• Main results:
  • The pleural fluid was bloody (hemorrhagic) and exudative, and showed no acid-fast bacilli and no malignant or abnormal cells.
  • A CT scan of the chest suggested the lesions were probably infective, with no evidence of malignancy, and the patient was empirically started on antitubercular treatment.
  • On the fourth day he developed acute severe breathlessness with massive effusion. A chest drain was placed, and the fluid showed no malignant cells on three consecutive examinations.
  • A thoracotomy and open lung biopsy confirmed mesothelioma. The histological picture was suggestive of the epithelial type.
• The authors' conclusion: The author stated that the rarity of the tumor, the absence of asbestos exposure and the unusual presentation prompted the report. The author added that it is difficult to say whether the few cases reported from India reflect fewer cases or lower awareness and diagnosis.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleural Mesothelioma, Malignant Mesothelioma, Pleura, Pleural Effusion, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Brief report: a phase II study of sunitinib in malignant pleural mesothelioma. the NCIC Clinical Trials Group — S.A. Laurie, A. Gupta, et al. (2011)

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