Multilocular mesothelial proliferation involving the skin of the umbilicus

Our plain-English summary of Multilocular mesothelial proliferation involving the skin of the umbilicus, by A.M. Konstantinova, M. Michal, D. Kacerovska, et al (The American Journal of Dermatopathology, 2013).

The study

• Authors: A.M. Konstantinova, M. Michal, D. Kacerovska, D.V. Kazakov
• Journal: The American Journal of Dermatopathology
• Published: 2013;35(8):856-8
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Multilocular mesothelial proliferation (MMP) is a rare lesion that mainly arises from the peritoneal mesothelium. Most often, it occurs in women of reproductive age, with a history of abdominal surgery, endometriosis, or pelvic inflammatory disease. We describe an unusual case of a 73-year-old woman affected by a large MMP, which involved the skin and presented clinically as a cutaneous mass. To the best of our knowledge, MMP involving the umbilicus has never been reported in a peer-reviewed literature.

In plain English

This was a case report from a dermatopathology journal. It described one 73-year-old woman with multilocular mesothelial proliferation (MMP), a rare lesion that the authors wrote mainly arises from the lining of the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelium). The article noted that MMP is also known by other names, including "multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma" and "cystic mesothelioma". The woman went to hospital with two days of acute abdominal pain. She had a skin-covered mass at the navel (umbilicus), reportedly present for many years. Surgeons suspected a trapped hernia and operated. They found a peritoneal mass connected to the navel and no hernia. Examined by eye, the specimen contained cysts 5 to 10 mm across. Under the microscope, these were variously sized cystic spaces lined by mesothelial cells. Mitotic figures (dividing cells) were not found. Staining for calretinin and D2-40 confirmed the cells were mesothelial. The appendix, also removed, showed features compatible with chronic appendicitis. The authors stated that, to their knowledge, MMP involving the umbilicus had never been reported in peer-reviewed literature. The article did not discuss asbestos.

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 73-year-old woman admitted to a hospital surgery department with acute abdominal pain. She reported no prior abdominal surgery, laparoscopy, or pelvic inflammatory disease. Location and date of the case are not stated.
• Main results:
  • The woman had a mass covered by intact skin involving the umbilicus. It had reportedly been present for many years.
  • At surgery, a peritoneal mass connected to the umbilicus was found. There was no hernia.
  • On gross (naked-eye) examination, the cysts in the specimen measured 5 to 10 mm.
  • Under the microscope, the lesion consisted of variously sized, folded cystic spaces lined by flattened or cuboidal mesothelial cells.
  • No mitotic figures (dividing cells) were found in the lesion.
  • The lining cells were confirmed as mesothelial by staining for calretinin and D2-40.
  • The removed appendix showed features compatible with chronic appendicitis.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that they had described an unusual MMP that reached the skin of the umbilicus and presented as a skin mass. They stated that, to their knowledge, MMP involving the umbilicus had not been reported before in peer-reviewed literature.

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: Mesothelium.

Related studies

• Peritoneal mesothelioma presenting as umbilical tumor — W.S. Kwee, R.W. Veldhuizen, et al. (1982)
• Collagenous Spherulosis in Well-Differentiated Papillary Mesothelioma in a Female With Multilocular Peritoneal Inclusion Cysts — B. AbdullGaffar, L.G. Raman (2019)
• New Markers for Separating Benign From Malignant Mesothelial Proliferations: Are We There Yet? — A. Churg, B.S. Sheffield, et al. (2016)
• Oncofetal protein IMP3, a new diagnostic biomarker to distinguish malignant mesothelioma from reactive mesothelial proliferation — M. Shi, A.E. Fraire, et al. (2011)
• Mesothelial proliferation due to asbestos and man-made fibres. Experimental studies on rat omentum — J. Friemann, K.M. Müller, et al. (1990)
• Cytopathology of serous neoplasia of the ovary and the peritoneum: differential diagnosis from mesothelial proliferations — L.R. Pisharodi, C.W. Bedrossian (1996)

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