Pericardial mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Pericardial mesothelioma, by J. Webb, Y.W. Yiu, S. Giastefani, et al (QJM, 2016).

The study

• Authors: J. Webb, Y.W. Yiu, S. Giastefani, G. Carr-White
• Journal: QJM
• Published: 2016;109(9):631-632
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 3 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This article is a short case report describing one patient. A 68-year-old man, a retired heating engineer with a history of asbestos exposure, came to doctors with breathlessness, a productive cough, profound tiredness, weight loss and vomiting of blood. Two years earlier, a pleural biopsy had confirmed epitheloid mesothelioma. The article does not say which type of asbestos he was exposed to or for how long. Echocardiography showed a possible blood clot, so he had a cardiac MRI scan. The scan showed a large left-sided mass infiltrating the pericardium (the sac around the heart), measuring 4.7 by 3 cm. It also showed a layered clot at the tip of the left ventricle and signs of dead tissue and bleeding within the mass. His ejection fraction (a measure of the heart's pumping) was 63%, with no sign of pericardial constriction. He worsened and died 3 weeks later. The authors wrote that mesothelioma cases are still seen and that early diagnosis results in improved outcome.

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 (published as a 'clinical picture')
• Who was studied: one 68-year-old man, a retired heating engineer; the article does not give the location or dates of care, though the authors are based in London hospitals
• Exposure: a history of asbestos exposure, with work as a heating engineer; fiber type, duration and dose are not stated
• Main results:
  • Two years before this presentation, a pleural biopsy had confirmed epitheloid mesothelioma in the patient
  • Cardiac MRI showed a large left-sided mass infiltrating the pericardium, measuring 4.7 by 3 cm
  • Contrast-enhanced images showed a laminar thrombus (layered clot) in the left ventricular apex and signs of necrosis and haemorrhage within the pericardial mass
  • The patient's ejection fraction was 63%, with no suggestion of pericardial constriction
  • The patient deteriorated and died 3 weeks later
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that, although mesothelioma mortality was predicted to peak and then decline, cases are still seen and early diagnosis results in improved outcome.

Topics

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

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

Related studies

• Neoplastic Pericardial Disease — J.J. Maleszewski, N.S. Anavekar (2017)
• A second case of pericardial mesothelioma mimicking systemic lupus erythematosus in the literature in over 30 years: a case report — C. Mensi, A. Romano, et al. (2017)
• Pericardial Mesothelioma in a 35-Year-Old Male With Ulcerative Colitis — J. Iliff, N.K. Bart, et al. (2019)
• Rare cause of myocardial infarction, stroke, and lung tumour — M. Medvegy, A. Szekula, et al. (2013)
• An autopsy case of a malignant pericardial mesothelioma in a Japanese young man — M. Watanabe, H. Suzuki, et al. (1999)
• Recurrence of Pericardial Mesothelioma Affecting the Myocardium After Pericardial Resection — M. Rodríguez, H.R. Mallidi, et al. (2018)

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