Primary diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: case report and update of therapy

Our plain-English summary of Primary diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: case report and update of therapy, by D. Piazza, F. Caruso, S. Scaringi, et al (Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2000).

The study

• Authors: D. Piazza, F. Caruso, S. Scaringi, M. Ferrara, F. Latteri, D. Dell'Erba
• Journal: Journal of Surgical Oncology
• Published: 2000;75(1):55-8
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Background And Objectives: Primary Diffuse Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a rare disease, with an incidence of 2.2 cases in 1. 000.000 in the USA. It occupies 10% of all mesotheliomas referred in literature.

Methods: We describe a case of diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma arising in a 54-year-old woman who presented a small bowel occlusion. A middle line laparotomy was done; multiple biopsies and an ileostomy were performed. There was not a history of exposure to asbestos. Histologic diagnosis was based on light microscopy, histochemistry, and immunohistochemistry.

Results: Patient had no further treatment because of her poor general conditions. She died 4 months later.

Conclusions: Update of treatment is briefly described with particular attention to multimodality approach (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy) and other new therapeutic options (iperthermochemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy), currently in clinical trials.

Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

In plain English

This article reported one case of primary diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the abdominal lining, with a brief review of treatments from the medical literature. The patient, a 54-year-old woman, came to the authors' attention in Catania, Italy, in December 1997 with a small bowel blockage. She had had about 3 months of abdominal pain and had lost about 10 kilos. The article stated she had no history of asbestos exposure. A CT scan showed a lesion in the wall of the caecum and a thickened, infiltrated mesenteric root. At surgery, tiny nodules covered the abdominal lining; biopsies were taken and an ileostomy was made. Tissue examination confirmed the diagnosis. She received no chemotherapy because of her poor general condition, and she survived 4 months. The survival and response figures in the treatment review came from other studies. The authors concluded that diagnosis must be exclusively histologic, based on immunohistochemistry. They also concluded that, with no specific protocol, polychemotherapy given intravenously and intraperitoneally, especially hyperthermic, alone or with cytoreductive surgery if feasible, should be considered the best therapy.

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 of one patient, with a brief literature-based update on treatment
• Who was studied: One 54-year-old woman seen by the authors (University of Catania and Centro Catanese di Oncologia, Catania, Italy) in December 1997
• Exposure: No history of asbestos exposure was reported for this patient. No fiber type is named.
• Main results:
  • The patient had about 3 months of colicky abdominal pain, lack of appetite and a weight loss of about 10 kilos.
  • A CT scan showed a lesion of the medial wall of the caecum, and the mesenteric root was infiltrated and thickened.
  • At laparotomy, multiple biopsies were taken and an ileostomy was performed.
  • Histology showed malignant tissue with epithelioid and spindle-shaped cells, and immunohistochemistry was positive for cytokeratin (printed as 'cytocheratin').
  • No chemotherapy was given because of the patient's poor general condition, and her survival was 4 months.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the diagnosis must be considered exclusively histologic, based on immunohistochemistry. Because no specific treatment protocol exists, they considered intravenous and intraperitoneal polychemotherapy, especially in a hyperthermic regimen, alone or with cytoreductive surgery if feasible, the best therapy. They added that prognosis remains unfavourable.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Peritoneal Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma, Laparotomy, Immunohistochemistry, Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy, Clinical Trial.

Related studies

• Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma--an update on treatment — P. Mirarabshahii, K. Pillai, et al. (2012)
• Metastatic primary peritoneal malignant mesothelioma mimicking primary diffuse gastric carcinoma: a rare encounter in gastric biopsy — Y. Yang, D. Gunawardane, et al. (2017)
• Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma presenting as intestinal obstruction — J. Griniatsos, S. Sougioultzis, et al. (2009)
• Clinical picture, response to therapy, and survival of women with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma — G.H. Eltabbakh, M.S. Piver, et al. (1999)
• Primary epithelioid haemangioendothelioma of the peritoneum: an unusual mimic of diffuse malignant mesothelioma — R.L. Attanoos, N.S. Dallimore, et al. (1997)
• Diffuse mesothelioma of the peritoneum: a pathological study of 64 tumours treated with cytoreductive therapy — M. Lee, H.R. Alexander, et al. (2013)

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