Solitary Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Rare Presentation

Our plain-English summary of Solitary Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A Rare Presentation, by F. Wang, H. Wang (Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports, 2026).

The study

• Authors: F. Wang, H. Wang
• Journal: Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports
• Published: 2026;4(1):269-270
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This short image report described one patient, a 62-year-old female farmer with a 10-day cough and a week of left-sided chest pain and tightness. A chest CT scan showed a well-defined mass measuring 40 mm by 23 mm next to the left diaphragm. It also showed fluid around the left lung (pleural effusion), but no enlarged lymph nodes in the center of the chest and no rib destruction. When the patient lay face down, the mass moved, suggesting it hung from the pleura on a stalk. Thoracoscopy showed a single smooth tumor growing from the pleura over the diaphragm. Biopsy found malignant spindle and epithelioid cells, and staining tests indicated mesothelial origin. The diagnosis was solitary malignant pleural mesothelioma. The tumor was completely removed by video-assisted thoracic surgery. At 5-year follow-up no recurrence or effusion was seen. The authors noted that this form is exceedingly rare and that staining tests are essential to confirm it. They also noted that the mass's mobility was atypical for mesothelioma but pivotal for surgical planning. The report did not mention asbestos or any other exposure.

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 'Images in Cardiothoracic Surgery' report)
• Who was studied: One 62-year-old female farmer with cough and left-sided chest pain and tightness. The authors are from a thoracic surgery department in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China. Dates of treatment are not given.
• Main results:
  • Chest CT showed a well-circumscribed soft tissue mass, 40 mm × 23 mm, adjacent to the left diaphragm. It also showed left pleural effusion but no mediastinal lymphadenopathy or rib destruction.
  • On prone-position CT the mass moved with position, which suggested a pedunculated pleural origin.
  • Medical thoracoscopy showed a solitary, smooth-surfaced tumor arising from the diaphragmatic pleura.
  • Biopsy showed malignant spindle and epithelioid cells with invasive growth.
  • Immunohistochemistry was positive for calretinin, WT-1, CK5/6 and CK7 (mesothelial origin) and negative for TTF-1 and P40. Ki-67 was 20%. The diagnosis was solitary malignant pleural mesothelioma.
  • The tumor was completely resected by video-assisted thoracic surgery. At 5-year follow-up there was no recurrence or pleural effusion.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that solitary malignant pleural mesothelioma is exceedingly rare, with no reliable incidence data, and that immunohistochemistry is essential for confirmation. They also concluded that positional mobility on CT is atypical for mesothelioma but pivotal for surgical planning.

Topics

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

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