So-called sclerosing hemangioma of the lung. Evidence for mesothelial origin

Our plain-English summary of So-called sclerosing hemangioma of the lung. Evidence for mesothelial origin, by A.L. Katzenstein, D.L. Weise, K. Fulling, et al (The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 1983).

The study

• Authors: A.L. Katzenstein, D.L. Weise, K. Fulling, H. Battifora
• Journal: The American Journal of Surgical Pathology
• Published: 1983;7(1):3-14
• Cited by: 67 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This laboratory pathology study examined nine sclerosing hemangiomas of the lung, a rare benign lung tumor whose cell of origin was uncertain. The article did not study asbestos or any other exposure. The authors used different tests on different tumors: special stains in five, immunostaining in six, electron microscopy in seven, and analysis of tissue sugars called glycosaminoglycans in three. Most patients were women. Tumors measured 1.2 to 7.0 cm, and none of the six patients with follow-up had a recurrence after 3 to 10 years. Tumor cells did not stain for factor VIII-related antigen, a marker of blood-vessel lining cells, in the six cases tested. Electron microscopy showed no features diagnostic of blood-vessel lining cells but did show long, slender microvilli in all cases, which the authors linked to mesothelial cells. In two of three tumors analyzed, the glycosaminoglycan pattern was identical to that of a known mesothelioma. The authors concluded that the evidence suggests this tumor is a form of benign epithelial mesothelioma. They acknowledged that their findings did not exclude an epithelial origin.

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 series with laboratory pathology studies (histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, glycosaminoglycan electrophoresis) of surgically removed tumors
• Who was studied: Nine sclerosing hemangiomas of the lung, from patients aged 22 to 65 (7 female, 2 male per Table 1); authors from St. Louis, Missouri and Duarte, California hospitals; study dates not stated
• Main results:
  • Among the six patients with follow-up, there was no recurrence after 3 to 10 years
  • Tumors ranged from 1.2 to 7.0 cm in diameter
  • In all six tumors tested, tumor cells did not stain for factor VIII-related antigen or lysozyme
  • In the seven tumors studied by electron microscopy, none of the features considered diagnostic of endothelium (blood-vessel lining) were found
  • Long, slender, uniform microvilli, which the authors considered suggestive of possible mesothelial origin, were abundant in all cases
  • In two of the three tumors analyzed (cases 6 and 8), the glycosaminoglycan electrophoresis pattern was identical to that of a known mesothelioma
  • The third tumor analyzed (case 7) showed only trace bands
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the evidence suggests pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma is a form of benign epithelial mesothelioma, and proposed calling it 'so-called' sclerosing hemangioma
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated that their electron microscopy findings, while strong evidence against endothelial origin, did not exclude epithelial origin
  • In one of the three tumors tested, only trace glycosaminoglycans were found; the authors assumed most had leached out of the tissue before testing

Topics

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

Related studies

• Solitary (localized) fibrous mesothelioma: evidence against mesothelial cell origin — P.A. Dervan, B. Tobin, et al. (1986)
• Sarcomatous tumor of the chest wall with osteochondroid differentiation. Evidence of mesothelial origin — A. Andrion, G. Mazzucco, et al. (1989)
• Immunoperoxidase localization of keratin proteins, carcinoembryonic antigen, and factor VIII in adenomatoid tumors: evidence for a mesothelial derivation — J.W. Said, G. Nash, et al. (1982)
• The fine structure of so-called minute pulmonary chemodectomas — C. Kuhn, F.B. Askin (1975)
• Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the lung in a patient with a history of asbestos exposure — A.C. Reifsnyder, H.J. Smith, et al. (1990)
• Coexistence of a malignant fibrous histiocytoma and asbestos exposure. Brief report — T. Kishimoto (1992)

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