Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma, by A.A. Tentes, G. Zorbas, N. Pallas, et al (The American Journal of Case Reports, 2012).

The study

• Authors: A.A. Tentes, G. Zorbas, N. Pallas, A. Fiska
• Journal: The American Journal of Case Reports
• Published: 2012;13:262-4
• Cited by: 16 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Background: Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare disease. It is not certain if it is a benign or a borderline tumor. Although many therapeutic approaches have been used, complete cytoreductive surgery in combination with hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy has gained acceptance.

Case Report: A case of multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma in a 16-year old patient is reported. The patient underwent complete cytoreduction and received intraoperative hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. The patient is disease-free one year after surgery.

Conclusions: Complete cytoreductive surgery in combination with hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy appears to be a rational therapeutic approach in multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma.

In plain English

This article was a case report describing one patient with multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare tumor of the lining of the abdomen. The patient was a 16-year-old female who had vague abdominal discomfort and swelling of the abdomen for two months. Ultrasound and a CT scan showed fluid in the abdomen (ascites) and tumor deposits in the pelvis, and laparoscopy with biopsies showed multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma. She underwent complete cytoreductive surgery, which included removing the pelvic lining together with the internal female reproductive organs, a low anterior resection of the bowel, and removal of the greater and lesser omentum. This was followed by heated chemotherapy delivered into the abdomen during the operation (HIPEC). Final tissue examination confirmed the diagnosis. She recovered without complications and was disease free one year after treatment. The article did not report whether she had any asbestos exposure. Its introduction, citing earlier publications, stated that this disease is generally not related to asbestos exposure. The authors concluded that this combined treatment appears to be a rational approach for this disease.

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 female patient with abdominal discomfort and distention for two months; authors based at Didimotichon General Hospital, Greece; no dates of treatment given
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure was studied or reported for this patient; the introduction, citing earlier publications, states the disease is generally not related to asbestos exposure
• Main results:
  • Ultrasound and CT showed ascites with peritoneal implants in the pelvis; laparoscopy and biopsies showed multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma
  • The patient had complete cytoreductive surgery (pelvic peritonectomy with removal of the internal female genitalia and low anterior resection, plus greater and lesser omentectomy) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal intraoperative chemotherapy
  • The patient recovered without complications and was disease free one year after initial treatment
  • Final histopathology confirmed the initial diagnosis, shown as low grade peritoneal mesothelioma
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that complete cytoreductive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy appears to be a rational therapeutic approach in multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Peritoneal Mesothelioma, Cytoreductive Surgery, Chemotherapy, HIPEC.

Related studies

• Multi-institutional experience of diffuse intra-abdominal multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma — T.C. Chua, T.D. Yan, et al. (2011)
• Benign multicystic mesothelioma and peritoneal inclusion cysts: are they the same clinical and histopathological entities? A systematic review to find an evidence-based management — A.M.C. Rapisarda, A. Cianci, et al. (2018)
• Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma: a systematic review of the literature — B. Noiret, F. Renaud, et al. (2019)
• Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma: outcomes and patho-biological features in a multi-institutional series treated by cytoreductive surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) — D. Baratti, M. Vaira, et al. (2010)
• Multicystic mesothelioma: Operative and long-term outcomes with cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intra peritoneal chemotherapy — E. Nizri, D. Baratti, et al. (2018)
• Multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma: A short review — C.H. Zhang, J.W. Yu, et al. (2017)

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