Translocation (2;3)(p21;p26) as the sole anomaly in a benign localized fibrous mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Translocation (2;3)(p21;p26) as the sole anomaly in a benign localized fibrous mesothelioma, by F. Mertens, R. Willén, R. Lillo-Gil, et al (Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics, 1996).

The study

• Authors: F. Mertens, R. Willén, R. Lillo-Gil, F. Mitelman, N. Mandahl
• Journal: Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics
• Published: 1996;92(1):90-1
• Type of article: Case report, Letter
• Cited by: 14 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This was a short case report from the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, describing one patient with a benign localized fibrous mesothelioma, a rare fibrous tumor. The patient was a 58-year-old woman with a tumor on the pleura (the lining of the chest cavity) at the lower lobe of the left lung. She had smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since age 16 and had never received cytotoxic treatment. The article does not mention asbestos or any other occupational exposure. Surgeons removed the 4 x 4 x 3 cm tumor. Under the microscope it was made of spindle-shaped cells with abundant collagen. No dividing cells (mitoses) were seen, and it was diagnosed as benign. The authors examined chromosomes in tumor cells grown briefly in the laboratory. Of 21 cells analyzed, 3 were normal. The other 18 carried, as their only abnormality, an exchange of material between chromosomes 2 and 3, written t(2;3)(p21;p26). The authors stated that, to their knowledge, no benign mesothelioma with chromosome changes had been described before. They said that whether this change plays a role in causing the tumor must await study of more cases.

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 (single patient, with tumor chromosome analysis)
• Who was studied: One 58-year-old woman with a pleural tumor at the inferior lobe of the left lung, treated at University Hospital, Lund, Sweden; dates not given
• Exposure: No asbestos or occupational exposure is mentioned. The article reports a history of smoking one pack of cigarettes per day since age 16 and no prior cytotoxic treatment.
• Main results:
  • The removed tumor was diagnosed as a benign localized fibrous mesothelioma of pleural origin.
  • No mitoses (dividing cells) were seen in the tumor.
  • On immunohistochemistry the tumor cells stained strongly for vimentin, and a few cells were positive for smooth muscle actin.
  • Of 21 metaphase cells analyzed from the tumor cultures, 3 had a normal female karyotype and 18 had the karyotype 46,XX,t(2;3)(p21;p26).
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that, to their knowledge, no benign mesothelioma with chromosome aberrations had been described before. They said any judgment on whether the t(2;3) is important in causing this tumor type must await chromosome studies of more cases.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The finding comes from a single case. The authors said its significance cannot be judged until more cases are studied.

Topics

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

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

Related studies

• Translocation (3;3)(p14;q29) as the primary chromosome abnormality in a peritoneal mesothelioma — M.R. Teixeira, K.E. Giercksky, et al. (1998)
• Translocation X;12 in mesothelioma — P. Dal Cin, I. De Wever, et al. (1991)
• A cluster of familial malignant mesothelioma with del(9p) as the sole chromosomal anomaly — M. Musti, D. Cavone, et al. (2002)
• Recurring loss involving chromosomes 1, 3, and 22 in malignant mesothelioma: possible sites of tumor suppressor genes — W.L. Flejter, F.P. Li, et al. (1989)
• Chromosome 3 and 12p rearranged in a well-differentiated peritoneal mesothelioma — H.J. Decker, F.P. Li, et al. (1990)
• Benign localized fibrous tumor of the pleura: report of 25 new cases — S. Enon, D. Kilic, et al. (2012)

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