Smooth muscle tumours of the pleura

Our plain-English summary of Smooth muscle tumours of the pleura, by A.R. Gibbs (Histopathology, 1995).

The study

• Author: A.R. Gibbs
• Journal: Histopathology
• Published: 1995;27(3):295-6
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 7 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Summary of the article

This commentary discussed a report by Moran and colleagues, published in the same issue of Histopathology, of five cases they considered primary smooth muscle tumours of the pleura. The author noted that primary pleural neoplasms are uncommon and nearly all have been described as localized (solitary) fibrous tumours or diffuse malignant mesotheliomas. The author also described evidence that submesothelial cells proliferate after injury, show myofibroblastoid features, and are capable of diverse differentiation. In Moran's series, all cases labelled for smooth muscle actin and vimentin and four for desmin. Four tumours were localized: two were classified as being of undetermined malignant potential and two as leiomyosarcomas. One tumour was diffuse. The author compared these cases with published localized fibrous tumours and found many similarities in clinical presentation, gross and microscopic appearance, and desmin and actin labelling. The diffuse case resembled malignant mesothelioma in its growth pattern. A previous study had found desmin and smooth muscle actin, with cytokeratin, in 2 of 45 malignant mesotheliomas. The author concluded that it is debatable whether the cases should strictly be classified as smooth muscle tumours. They may instead represent benign and malignant localized fibrous tumours and a leiomyoid diffuse mesothelioma. The author stated that asbestos exposure is strongly associated with diffuse malignant mesothelioma but not with localized fibrous tumours. None of Moran's subjects were exposed, and the author said exposure history should not be used to establish either diagnosis.

PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

In plain English

This commentary by A.R. Gibbs was not an original study. It discussed an article in the same journal issue in which Moran and colleagues described five cases they considered primary smooth muscle tumours of the pleura. Four were localized and one was diffuse. All five labelled for smooth muscle actin and vimentin, and four labelled for desmin. The author compared these cases with localized fibrous tumours and diffuse malignant mesotheliomas. On that basis, the author suggested that cases 1 and 3 corresponded to benign localized fibrous tumours of the pleura, cases 2 and 5 to malignant ones, and that case 4 could be regarded as a leiomyoid diffuse mesothelioma. The author concluded it was debatable whether the five cases should strictly be classified as smooth muscle tumours. The author wrote that asbestos exposure is strongly associated with diffuse malignant mesothelioma but that there is no good evidence of an association with localized fibrous tumours. None of Moran and colleagues' subjects were exposed to asbestos. The author stated that a positive or negative asbestos history should not be used to establish the diagnosis of either tumour type.

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: Commentary on another article (Moran and colleagues) published in the same journal issue; no original data
• Who was studied: No study population of its own; the commentary discussed the five pleural tumour cases reported by Moran and colleagues
• Exposure: No exposure was studied. The commentary noted that none of the subjects in Moran and colleagues' report were exposed to asbestos.
• Main results:
  • As summarized in the commentary, Moran and colleagues' cases comprised four localized tumours and one diffuse tumour
  • As summarized in the commentary, Moran and colleagues reported labelling for smooth muscle actin and vimentin in all five cases and for desmin in four cases
  • The author's interpretation: cases 1 and 3 appeared to correspond to benign localized fibrous tumours of the pleura, and cases 2 and 5 to malignant ones
  • The author's interpretation: case 4 could be regarded as a leiomyoid diffuse mesothelioma
  • The author stated that asbestos exposure is strongly associated with diffuse malignant mesothelioma, but that there is no good evidence of an association with localized fibrous tumours
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded it was debatable whether Moran and colleagues' five cases should strictly be classified as smooth muscle tumours. The author also stated that a positive or negative asbestos history should not be used to establish the diagnosis of either localized fibrous tumour or diffuse malignant mesothelioma.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pleura, Histopathology, Neoplasm, Mesothelioma, Desmin, Asbestos Exposure, Exposure History.

Related studies

• Distribution of transforming growth factor-beta 1, fibronectin, and smooth muscle actin in asbestos-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats — T.D. Perdue, A.R. Brody (1994)
• Smooth muscle tumours of the pleura — C.A. Moran, S. Suster, et al. (1997)
• Diagnostic use of muscle markers in the cytologic evaluation of serous fluids — A.M. Afify, B.M. Al-Khafaji, et al. (2002)
• Epithelioid endometrial and endometrioid stromal tumors: a report of four cases emphasizing their distinction from epithelioid smooth muscle tumors and other oxyphilic uterine and extrauterine tumors — E. Oliva, P.B. Clement, et al. (2002)
• Expression of muscle actins in diffuse mesotheliomas — I.T. Kung, V. Thallas, et al. (1995)
• Malignant vascular tumours of the pleura in "asbestos" workers and endothelial differentiation in malignant mesothelioma — R.L. Attanoos, S.K. Suvarna, et al. (2000)

Browse more research in Histopathology, or return to medical research.