Pleural mesothelioma in situ and its adenocarcinoma simulator

Our plain-English summary of Pleural mesothelioma in situ and its adenocarcinoma simulator, by F. Bono (International Journal of Surgical Pathology, 2010).

The study

• Author: F. Bono
• Journal: International Journal of Surgical Pathology
• Published: 2010;18(6):519-20
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This short illustrated article, by a pathologist at Ospedale San Gerardo in Monza, Italy, presented pleural biopsies from two elderly men. Both men were initially thought to have malignant mesothelioma. Under the microscope the two biopsies looked alike. Cuboidal tumor cells formed tubes, cords and single cells invading the underlying tissue. Both biopsies also showed tumor growing along the pleural surface above the invaded areas, partly flat and partly raised. Special staining (immunohistochemistry) told the two cases apart. In case 1 the cells were positive for calretinin, CK5/6 and CK7 and negative for CEA, WT1 and TTF-1. This supported a diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma with a surface ('in situ') component. In case 2 the cells were positive for TTF-1 and CEA and negative for calretinin and CK5/6. This led to a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma spreading to the pleura. Citing earlier publications, the author noted that such 'pseudomesotheliomatous' carcinomas mimic mesothelioma in growth pattern and cell appearance. The article did not report any asbestos exposure, the men's exact ages, their treatment or their outcomes.

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: Brief illustrated report of two cases (pathology images comparing pleural biopsies)
• Who was studied: Two elderly men, both with a presumptive diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma; the author is based at Ospedale San Gerardo, Monza, Italy. No ages or dates are given.
• Main results:
  • In both cases the biopsies showed invasive tumor plus tumor growth on the pleural surface over the invaded areas, partly flat and single-layered and partly raised and polypoid.
  • Case 1: tumor cells positive for calretinin, CK5/6 and CK7 and negative for CEA, WT1 and TTF-1, supporting malignant mesothelioma (malignant pleural mesothelioma with invasive and surface 'in situ' components).
  • Case 2: tumor cells positive for TTF-1 and CEA and negative for calretinin and CK5/6, leading to a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma with pleural spread.
• The authors' conclusion: The article states no formal conclusion. It closes by describing, with citations to earlier literature, 'pseudomesotheliomatous' carcinomas: lung carcinomas, usually adenocarcinomas, that mimic malignant mesothelioma in growth pattern and cell features.

Topics

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

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

Related studies

• Detection of dysplasia and carcinoma in situ by ratio fluorometry — S. Lam, J.Y. Hung, et al. (1992)
• Cigarette smoking associated with lung adenocarcinoma in situ in a large case-control study (SFBALCS) — P.M. Bracci, J. Sison, et al. (2012)
• HBME-1, MOC-31, WT1 and calretinin: an assessment of recently described markers for mesothelioma and adenocarcinoma — J. Oates, C. Edwards (2000)
• Immunohistochemical panels for differentiating epithelial malignant mesothelioma from lung adenocarcinoma: a study with logistic regression analysis — R. Carella, G. Deleonardi, et al. (2001)
• Calretinin, thrombomodulin, CEA, and CD15: a useful combination of immunohistochemical markers for differentiating pleural epithelial mesothelioma from peripheral pulmonary adenocarcinoma — C.E. Comin, L. Novelli, et al. (2001)
• Value of the MOC-31 monoclonal antibody in differentiating epithelial pleural mesothelioma from lung adenocarcinoma — N.G. Ordóñez (1998)

Browse more research in International Journal of Surgical Pathology, or return to medical research.