Multilocular peritoneal inclusion cyst (multicystic mesothelioma) with hyaline globules

Our plain-English summary of Multilocular peritoneal inclusion cyst (multicystic mesothelioma) with hyaline globules, by J. Lamovec, J. Sinkovec (Histopathology, 1996).

The study

• Authors: J. Lamovec, J. Sinkovec
• Journal: Histopathology
• Published: 1996;28(5):466-9
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 10 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This case report described a 22-year-old woman, examined for infertility, who had a large cystic growth filling her pelvis and much of her abdominal (peritoneal) cavity. The authors diagnosed a multilocular peritoneal inclusion cyst, a lesion also called multicystic mesothelioma. Surgeons could not remove it whole and took it out in parts, with a segment of the right ovary. The growth was stuck to that ovary but had not invaded it. Under the microscope it had many cysts, sieve-like areas of tiny spaces, and growth of lining (mesothelial) cells inside the cyst walls. Unusually, it contained numerous small, dense pink (hyaline) globules inside and outside the cells. These globules, together with the prominent pattern of tiny cysts, made it closely resemble an ovarian yolk sac tumour. The authors ruled that out, partly because the cells tested negative for alpha-fetoprotein. Two years and six months later she showed no sign of recurrence. The authors concluded that such globules in cysts with a prominent pattern of tiny cysts add yolk sac tumour to the list of possible diagnoses. The article does not mention 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 22-year-old woman admitted to hospital to find the cause of her infertility. The authors worked in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The dates of treatment were not given.
• Exposure: None studied. The article does not mention asbestos or any occupational or environmental exposure. Her past history was unremarkable apart from a traffic accident 8 months earlier without symptomatic abdominal injury.
• Main results:
  • At surgery, a cystic tumour of 'head' size occupied the pelvis and a large part of the peritoneal cavity. It could not be removed whole and was taken out piecemeal.
  • Under the microscope the lesion was multicystic, with large sieve-like areas of many small cystic spaces.
  • In several areas, epithelioid cells grew within the cyst walls. These areas contained numerous darkly eosinophilic hyaline globules, both free in the spaces and inside cells.
  • The lining cells were strongly positive for keratins and negative for alpha-fetoprotein, among other markers. The globules were strongly PAS-positive.
  • The globules, together with the prominent microcystic growth pattern, gave the lesion more than a superficial resemblance to yolk sac tumour of the ovary.
  • Yolk sac tumour was excluded by the absence of cytological pleomorphism and Schiller-Duval bodies and by the negative alpha-fetoprotein reaction.
  • The authors stated that the nature of the hyaline globules was not clear.
  • The tumour adhered to the right ovary but did not infiltrate it.
  • Two years and six months after the operation the patient showed no evidence of recurrent tumour.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors considered the hyaline globules apparently unique in this lesion. They concluded that hyaline globules in peritoneal inclusion cysts with a prominent microcystic pattern add yolk sac tumour to the list of differential diagnoses. They excluded both yolk sac tumour and adenomatoid tumour in this case.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Multicystic Mesothelioma (MCM).

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