Primary Sarcomatoid Malignant Mesothelioma of the Pancreas

Our plain-English summary of Primary Sarcomatoid Malignant Mesothelioma of the Pancreas, by Y. Zhao, Z. Li, C. Wang (Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, 2019).

The study

• Authors: Y. Zhao, Z. Li, C. Wang
• Journal: Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
• Published: 2019;23(7):1518-1520
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This article was a case report about one patient, a 51-year-old man who had yellowing of the skin, back pain and weight loss for one month. The article states that he had no history of asbestos exposure. Blood tests showed abnormal liver function. A CT scan found an irregular mass measuring 7.8 by 6.8 cm in the head of the pancreas, involving the common bile duct and the duodenum. A needle biopsy showed spindle-shaped cells, and the staining results were judged consistent with primary sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma arising within the pancreas. The tumor could not be removed by radical surgery because of its location and size. After two cycles of pemetrexed plus cisplatin chemotherapy the disease had progressed. Chemotherapy was stopped, and the patient died of cachexia (severe wasting) 4 months after diagnosis. The authors described this as the first report of this tumor type within the pancreas. They concluded that its prognosis may be poor because of its highly invasive behavior, local recurrence and metastasis. A single case does not show how often such tumors occur.

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 51-year-old man with jaundice, back pain and weight loss for 1 month; the authors are at the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; dates of care not stated
• Exposure: The article states the patient had no history of asbestos exposure
• Main results:
  • Abnormal liver tests in this patient, e.g. total bilirubin 139.9 μmol/L (reference range 1.71–17.1)
  • CT showed an irregular, lobulated mass, maximum cross-section 7.8 × 6.8 cm, in the head of the pancreas
  • Biopsy tumor cells stained positive for calretinin, D2-40, AE1/AE3, CK18, vimentin, SMA and MC
  • Findings were consistent with primary intra-pancreatic sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma
  • The tumor was not suitable for radical surgery; after two cycles of pemetrexed plus cisplatin the disease had progressed
  • The patient died of cachexia 4 months after diagnosis
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the prognosis of sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma within the pancreas may be poor because of its highly invasive behavior, local recurrence and metastasis

Topics

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

Related studies

• Primary malignant sarcomatoid mesothelioma in the pericardium — K. Tateishi, M. Ikeda, et al. (2013)
• Primary sarcomatoid malignant pericardial mesothelioma — D. Jiang, M. Kong, et al. (2013)
• Primary sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma of the pericardium — T. Terada (2012)
• Primary malignant pericardial sarcomatoid mesothelioma: An autopsy report — H. Muta, Y. Sugita, et al. (2017)
• Sarcomatoid Type Primary Pericardial Mesothelioma with a Long-term Survival after the Onset of Cardiac Tamponade — C. Saisho, H. Ishii, et al. (2016)
• Isolated primary pericardial sarcomatoid mesothelioma: a case report — P. Nezafati, R. Vilain, et al. (2026)

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