Multiple cystic tumors throughout the abdominal and pelvic cavity

Our plain-English summary of Multiple cystic tumors throughout the abdominal and pelvic cavity, by S.C. Yu, C.H. Wu, H.Y. Huang (Gastroenterology, 2012).

The study

• Authors: S.C. Yu, C.H. Wu, H.Y. Huang
• Journal: Gastroenterology
• Published: 2012;143(5):1156-1401
• Type of article: Case report
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This was a short case report in the journal's image-quiz format. The authors were from the pathology and medical imaging departments of National Taiwan University Hospital. It described one 53-year-old man with type 2 diabetes whose abdominal masses were found by chance during a kidney ultrasound. CT scanning showed multiple thin-walled cystic lesions in the abdominal and pelvic cavity. The cysts and the appendix were removed because doctors suspected pseudomyxoma peritonei. Under the microscope, the cysts were lined by a single layer of flat or cube-shaped cells. These cells stained positive for calretinin and negative for CD31, an endothelial marker. A carcinoid tumor was also found by chance in the appendix. The authors diagnosed benign multicystic mesothelioma. They described it as a rare tumor most often found on the pelvic peritoneal surface, usually in women of reproductive age without a history of asbestos exposure. The report did not say whether this patient had been exposed to asbestos, and it gave no follow-up after surgery.

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, image-quiz format)
• Who was studied: One 53-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Abdominal masses were found incidentally on renal ultrasonography done because of an elevated serum creatinine. The authors were from National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Exposure: The article does not report whether this patient had any asbestos exposure. It states only, as background, that patients with this tumor are usually women of reproductive age without a history of asbestos exposure.
• Main results:
  • In this patient, computed tomography showed multiple thin-walled cystic lesions with internal septations in the abdominal and pelvic cavity.
  • In this patient, the cystic lesions and the appendix were surgically removed under the clinical impression of pseudomyxoma peritonei.
  • In this patient, the cysts were lined by a single layer of flattened or cuboidal cells that were positive for calretinin and negative for CD31 (an endothelial marker).
  • In this patient, a carcinoid tumor was incidentally found in the appendix.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors gave the diagnosis as benign multicystic mesothelioma. They noted that in this tumor the cystic spaces are lined by mesothelial cells expressing markers such as calretinin, unlike cystic lymphangioma, the main alternative diagnosis. They also noted that the disease course is usually indolent but local recurrence after surgery is common.

Related studies

• Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma: a rare cause of intra-abdominal cystic disease — B. Campbell, D. Mehanna, et al. (2017)
• Loose mesothelial cysts in the peritoneal cavity — Y. Ramirez, J. Rosai, et al. (2010)
• Benign cystic peritoneal mesothelioma incorrectly diagnosed as an ovarian borderline mucinous tumor of intestinal type at transvaginal preoperative ultrasound evaluation — A.C. Testa, G.F. Zannoni, et al. (2011)
• Benign cystic mesothelioma: a case series with one case complicated by pregnancy — O. Akbayir, A. Gedikbasi, et al. (2011)
• Incidental benign cystic mesothelioma of the peritoneum: A case report — M.M. Ianieri, D.I. Buca, et al. (2016)
• Laparoscopic diagnosis and treatment of pelvic benign multicystic mesothelioma associated with high CA19.9 serum concentration — V. Pinto, A.C. Rossi, et al. (2010)

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