Endoscopic ultrasound elastography in the diagnosis of incidental malignant mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Endoscopic ultrasound elastography in the diagnosis of incidental malignant mesothelioma, by A. Guzman, R.D. Valle, G. Bravo, et al (Endoscopic Ultrasound, 2016).

The study

• Authors: A. Guzman, R.D. Valle, G. Bravo, C. Robles-Medranda
• Journal: Endoscopic Ultrasound
• Published: 2016;5(1):63-4
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This was a short case report, published as an image report, about one 32-year-old woman seen at an endoscopy center in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She had lost 10 kg in 2 months and had a raised blood level of carcinoembryonic antigen (100 ng/mL). Her physical examination was normal, and earlier chest and abdominal CT scans and several types of endoscopy were also normal. An endoscopic ultrasound found two lymph nodes, one near the aorta and one near the esophagus. A stiffness test called elastography showed the node near the aorta was very hard, with a strain ratio of 131.1. The node near the esophagus had a strain ratio of 6.85. The first node was suspected to be cancerous. A needle sample was taken, and laboratory examination showed mesothelioma. The report does not say whether the mesothelioma was pleural or peritoneal. It does not mention asbestos or any other exposure. The authors concluded that this case showed the usefulness of elastography and that mesothelioma tumors are very hard lesions, with strain ratios above 100. This is a statement based on a single patient.

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 image report)
• Who was studied: one 32-year-old woman referred to the Ecuadorian Institute of Digestive Disease, Guayaquil, Ecuador; dates of care not stated (article received 2015)
• Main results:
  • The patient had lost 10 kg in 2 months
  • The patient's serum carcinoembryonic antigen was raised, at 100 ng/mL
  • Earlier tests, including chest and abdominal CT and upper, lower and capsule endoscopy, were normal
  • Elastography of the lymph node near the aorta showed hard tissue with a strain ratio of 131.1
  • The second lymph node, near the esophagus, had a strain ratio of 6.85; the first node was the one suspected of malignancy
  • Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration was performed, and histopathology showed a mesothelioma (site of origin not specified)
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that this incidental case showed the utility of EUS-elastography and that mesothelioma tumors are very hard lesions with elastography strain ratio above 100

Topics

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

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