Mesothelioma of the abdomen in women. Monitoring of therapy by peritoneal fluid study

Our plain-English summary of Mesothelioma of the abdomen in women. Monitoring of therapy by peritoneal fluid study, by L. McGowan, B. Bunnag, L.F. Arias (Gynecologic Oncology, 1975).

The study

• Authors: L. McGowan, B. Bunnag, L.F. Arias
• Journal: Gynecologic Oncology
• Published: 1975;3(1):10-4
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This article reported two cases of malignant diffuse mesothelioma of the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma) in women, aged 60 and 73. Neither had a known or apparent exposure to asbestos. Both were treated with the oral drug melphalan. The authors repeatedly tested fluid drawn from the abdominal cavity for cancer cells and with a 12-test chemistry panel, and studied chromosomes in the first woman's fluid. In the first woman, cancer cells disappeared about 3 months after surgery. The disease was arrested for about 22 months, and recurrence was found in the fluid about 25 months after surgery. She died 3 years and 3 months after surgery. In the second woman, cancer cells disappeared 5 months after the first course of melphalan, and the drug was stopped for 9 months. Recurrence appeared 15 months after surgery, and she lived 2 years and 3.5 months after surgery. In both women, the fluid tests detected returning disease before symptoms reappeared. The authors noted that neither woman was cured. They concluded that serial fluid study seemed to be a valuable aid for detecting persistent or recurrent mesothelioma and monitoring therapy.

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 (two cases)
• Who was studied: Two women with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, a 60-year-old white woman (L.D.) and a 73-year-old white woman (M.K.), seen by the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; dates of treatment not given
• Exposure: Neither woman had a known or apparent asbestos exposure. Both were treated with oral melphalan 0.2 mg/kg of body weight daily for 5 days every 4 weeks.
• Main results:
  • Case 1: malignant cells disappeared from the peritoneal fluid about 3 months after operation, after four courses of melphalan. This coincided with a return to normal biochemical values and chromosome analysis.
  • Case 1: disease was arrested for approximately 22 months. Recurrence was found on cytologic and biochemical study of peritoneal fluid approximately 25 months after operation, and she died 3 years and 3 months after operation.
  • Case 2: malignant cells disappeared 5 months after the first course of melphalan. The drug was stopped for 9 months. Recurrence appeared 15 months after operation, with elevation of 9 of the 12 biochemical values in peritoneal fluid. She lived 2 years and 3.5 months after operation.
  • In both women, recurrence was detected by peritoneal fluid cytology and biochemical profiles before clinical symptoms reappeared.
  • In peritoneal fluid from the mesothelioma patient (case 1), calcium, inorganic phosphorus, urea nitrogen, uric acid, cholesterol, total protein, total bilirubin, lactic dehydrogenase and glutamic oxaloacetic acid transaminase were elevated above values found in control women.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that a cure was not achieved in either patient, but that both had relief from symptoms and survived longer than usually reported. They concluded that serial cytologic and biochemical study of peritoneal fluid seems to be a valuable aid for detecting persistent or recurrent mesothelioma and for monitoring therapy.

Topics

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

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

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• Significance of cell proliferation markers (Minichromosome maintenance protein 7, topoisomerase IIalpha and Ki-67) in cavital fluid cytology: can we differentiate reactive mesothelial cells from malignant cells? — F. Kimura, J. Kawamura, et al. (2010)
• Peritoneal carcinomatosis: intraoperative parameters in open (coliseum) versus closed abdomen HIPEC — E. Halkia, A. Tsochrinis, et al. (2015)
• The role of "closed abdomen" hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in the palliative treatment of neoplastic ascites from peritoneal carcinomatosis: report of a single-center experience — L. Orgiano, F. Pani, et al. (2016)
• Peritoneal mesothelioma. A report of 4 cases — G.H. Roberts, R.W. Irvine (1970)

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