Cystic mesothelioma of the testis in an adolescent patient

Our plain-English summary of Cystic mesothelioma of the testis in an adolescent patient, by A.J. Chien, P.J. Strouse, H.P. Koo (Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, 2000).

The study

• Authors: A.J. Chien, P.J. Strouse, H.P. Koo
• Journal: Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine
• Published: 2000;19(6):423-5
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This article was a case report about one patient: a 16-year-old African American male with cystic mesothelioma, which the authors described as a benign tumor, in the lining around the right testis (the tunica vaginalis). He had sudden right testicular pain that went away on its own after about 6 hours. Ultrasound showed fluid around the testis (a hydrocele) containing many small cysts under 10 mm. The testes themselves looked normal. At surgery the lining was studded with cysts 2 mm to 2 cm across, and tissue examined during the operation was consistent with benign cystic mesothelioma. The cysts were removed and the testis was kept. A CT scan showed no evidence of cysts inside the peritoneal cavity (the space enclosed by the lining of the abdomen). Ultrasound at 1 and 2 years showed the tumor had returned, with cysts growing in number and size. At 2 years the right testis was removed. The authors called the tumor rare and unusual for the patient's age, sex and site, and found no earlier reports of cystic mesothelioma of the scrotum. The article did not mention asbestos.

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)
• Who was studied: One 16-year-old African American male with right testicular pain. The authors were at the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Exposure: The article does not mention asbestos or any other exposure.
• Main results:
  • The patient's right testicular pain went away on its own after about 6 hours.
  • Ultrasound showed a hydrocele containing multiple small cysts less than 10 mm in size.
  • On ultrasound the testes themselves appeared normal.
  • At surgery the inner tunica vaginalis was studded with cysts 2 mm to 2 cm in diameter.
  • Frozen-section pathology was consistent with benign cystic mesothelioma.
  • The cysts were excised and the testis was preserved.
  • CT showed no evidence of intraperitoneal cysts (cysts within the peritoneal cavity).
  • Ultrasound at 1 and 2 years after surgery showed recurrence, with cysts increasing in number and size.
  • Two years after the first surgery the right testis was removed.
  • The authors found no previous reports of cystic mesothelioma of the scrotum.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that this was a rare benign tumor, made more unusual by the patient's age and sex and by the site where it appeared.

Topics

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

Related studies

• Well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis testis of unknown malignant potential: Sonographic appearance — K.W.S. Ko, K.S. Tse, et al. (2018)
• Giant benign cystic peritoneal mesothelioma: US, CT, and MRI findings — A. Ozgen, D. Akata, et al. (1998)
• Cystic appearance of a malignant peritoneal mesothelioma by ultrasonography and computed tomography: a case report — K.W. Preidler, H. Steiner, et al. (1994)
• Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis: diagnostic studies and differential diagnosis — S.S. Chekol, C.C. Sun (2012)
• Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis: a rare malignancy mimicking more common inguino-scrotal masses — P.J. Schure, K.C. van Dalen, et al. (2006)
• Benign cystic peritoneal mesothelioma incorrectly diagnosed as an ovarian borderline mucinous tumor of intestinal type at transvaginal preoperative ultrasound evaluation — A.C. Testa, G.F. Zannoni, et al. (2011)

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