Plasmacytomas and mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Plasmacytomas and mesothelioma, by M.C. Perry, A. Solinger, M. Farhangi, et al (Medical and Pediatric Oncology, 1978).

The study

• Authors: M.C. Perry, A. Solinger, M. Farhangi, A. Luger
• Journal: Medical and Pediatric Oncology
• Published: 1978;5(1):205-12
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 15 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 001079).

Abstract

A patient is reported who developed five plasmacytomas over a four-year period and developed a pleural mesothelioma 12 years later. The relationship of these two entities is discussed and the question of a common environmental carcinogen is raised.

In plain English

This article was a case report about one man, a retired appliance store owner born in 1917, who was seen at the University of Missouri Medical Center. From 1939 to 1946 he worked for a chemical company, where he was exposed to asbestos from filter material. From 1946 to 1964 he did steam pipe insulating contracting work and was exposed to asbestos flue pipe. The article did not name a fiber type. Starting in 1964 he developed five plasmacytomas (plasma cell tumors in bone) over a four-year period. Not all were confirmed by tissue examination. After radiation and a two-week course of melphalan he had no further plasmacytomas and did not progress to multiple myeloma. In August 1975 he developed a large left pleural effusion, and a pleural biopsy showed papillary mesothelioma. In January 1978 the mesothelioma recurred as a left flank mass. The authors raised asbestos as a possible common cause of both tumors. They also listed coincidence and the earlier cancer treatment as other possible explanations. They concluded that a link was possible but not proven.

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 man born in 1917, a retired appliance store owner, evaluated and treated at the University of Missouri Medical Center from 1964 through 1978
• Exposure: Occupational asbestos exposure, fiber type not stated: asbestos from filter material at a chemical company from 1939 to 1946 (along with phenol and chlorine gas), then asbestos flue pipe during steam pipe insulating contracting work from 1946 to 1964
• Main results:
  • In 1964 the patient's first plasmacytoma was diagnosed by biopsy of a lytic bone lesion of the right symphysis pubis
  • In June 1965 a lesion of the left second metatarsal bone was found by curettage to be a second plasmacytoma. Three further lesions, in the right wrist, left radius and right femur, were treated with radiation without a tissue diagnosis.
  • After a two-week course of melphalan, the only chemotherapy given, the patient had no further plasmacytomas
  • In the decade of close monitoring after the plasmacytomas, the patient showed no recurrence or progression to multiple myeloma
  • In August 1975 the patient had a large left pleural effusion, and a Cope needle biopsy of the pleura showed papillary mesothelioma
  • In January 1978 the patient developed a left flank mass, which on biopsy was recurrent mesothelioma
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the patient had two separate and distinct neoplasms, with a possible but not proven relationship between them through his history of asbestos exposure
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that the two tumors occurring in the same patient may be mere coincidence
  • The authors stated that treatment of the first cancer (radiation and an alkylating agent) may have increased the likelihood of the second
  • Only some of the plasmacytomas were confirmed by tissue examination: of the four later lesions, the authors report histological documentation of one

Topics

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

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

Related studies

• Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma following radiotherapy for seminoma of the testis — R.J. Stock, Y.S. Fu, et al. (1979)
• Quality of life after cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy: a prospective study of 216 patients — G. Passot, N. Bakrin, et al. (2014)
• Pleural malignant mesothelioma following Wilms' tumor — M.B. Austin, R.E. Fechner, et al. (1986)
• Synchronous diffuse malignant mesothelioma and carcinomas in asbestos-exposed individuals — R.L. Attanoos, D.H. Thomas, et al. (2003)
• Adenomatoid tumor of the pleura — H. Minato, T. Nojima, et al. (2009)
• Asbestos exposure and multiple primary tumors — V.A. Dohner, R.G. Beegle, et al. (1975)

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