Pseudomesotheliomatous carcinoma due to pleural metastasis from renal pelvic cancer

Our plain-English summary of Pseudomesotheliomatous carcinoma due to pleural metastasis from renal pelvic cancer, by Y. Katsuya, M. Fukusumi, S. Morita, et al (Internal Medicine, 2014).

The study

• Authors: Y. Katsuya, M. Fukusumi, S. Morita, T. Ibe, K. Wakuda, A. Mouri, Y. Hamamoto, K. Yamada, M. Kamimura
• Journal: Internal Medicine
• Published: 2014;53(8):871-4
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A 78-year-old man was referred to our department with a one-week history of dyspnea and coughing. A chest X-ray showed massive left pleural effusion. Computed tomography revealed diffuse irregular thickening of the left pleura similar to malignant mesothelioma and multiple nodules in both lungs. The patient died of respiratory failure nine days after hospitalization. An autopsy revealed metastasis to the pleura and lungs from urothelial carcinoma of the left kidney.

In plain English

This case report described one 78-year-old Japanese man admitted with massive fluid around the left lung (pleural effusion) after a week of breathlessness, coughing and loss of appetite. The article states the patient had no previous asbestos exposure or smoking history. CT scans showed diffuse thickening of the left pleura (the lining around the lung), multiple nodules in both lungs, and an irregular 6.0 by 5.0 cm mass in the left kidney. A pleural biopsy was planned, but the patient's condition worsened quickly, and the patient died on the ninth day after admission. Autopsy found urothelial carcinoma of the left kidney (grade 3, stage IV) that had spread to the left pleura and lung. This is a cancer that starts in the lining of the kidney's urine-collecting area, called transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis. Spread of this kind looks like malignant mesothelioma on scans and is called pseudomesotheliomatous carcinoma. The authors supposed the cancer had spread through the bloodstream. The authors concluded that, although rare, renal pelvic cancer should be considered as a possible starting site of this pattern.

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
• Who was studied: One 78-year-old Japanese man admitted to a pulmonary medicine department in Japan; no dates given
• Exposure: None. The patient had no previous asbestos exposure or smoking history.
• Main results:
  • CT showed diffuse thickening of the left pleura, plus nodules in both lungs
  • CT showed an irregular mass measuring 6.0 by 5.0 cm in the left kidney
  • The patient died on the ninth day after admission, before the planned thoracoscopic pleural biopsy could be done
  • At autopsy the left pleura was circumferentially thickened by the tumor
  • The diagnosis was urothelial carcinoma of the left kidney (grade 3, stage IV) with metastasis to the left pleura and lung
  • The authors supposed the cancer spread through the bloodstream, because autopsy showed invasion of the renal vein without lymph node metastasis
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis had spread diffusely to the pleura with mesothelioma-like findings, and that, although rare, renal pelvic cancer should be considered as a primary site of pseudomesotheliomatous carcinoma.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pseudomesotheliomatous Adenocarcinoma, Metastasis, Dyspnea, Chest X-Ray, Pleural Effusion, Pleura, Malignant Mesothelioma, Autopsy.

Related studies

• Cytomorphological features of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma in serous effusions — C.C. Huang, C.W. Michael (2014)
• Carbonic anhydrase IX is expressed in mesothelioma and metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma of the lung — M.L. Ramsey, B.J. Yuh, et al. (2012)
• Malignant mesothelioma presenting as a giant chest, abdominal and pelvic wall mass — Z.H. Shao, X.L. Gao, et al. (2011)
• Concurrent occurrence of renal cell carcinoma with rhabdoid features in a married couple: a case report — R. Matsumoto, N. Shinohara, et al. (2015)
• Cystic renal cell carcinoma: arose as a simple cyst, recurred repeatedly as a multicystic mass and finally presented as a solid mass — Y. Shishikura, M. Furusato, et al. (1998)
• Pseudomesotheliomatous carcinoma of the pleura: an autopsy case of metastasis from a G-CSF-producing anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas — Y. Hattori, K. Sentani, et al. (2018)

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