Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Malignant Mesothelioma: Clinical and Imaging Findings

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Occupational Cancers

  • 1119 Accesses

Abstract

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare tumor. The incidence has been rising since the 1970s with a male to female ratio of 5:1 which is likely due to the increased frequency of occupational exposure to asbestos in men. The clinical and imaging features of malignant mesothelioma vary widely depending on the stage of presentation. A significantly high index of suspicion is required to make a diagnosis due to the nonspecific nature of the symptoms, signs, and early radiology. Invasive surgical procedures are often required to obtain adequate tumor tissue samples to secure the diagnosis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Wagner JC, Sleggs CA, Marchand P. Diffuse pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in the North Western Cape Province. Br J Ind Med. 1960;17:260–71.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Verschraegen C. Mesothelioma: incidence and survival rates in the United States. Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol. 2003;22:869.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bégin R. Asbestos related diseases. In: Harber P, Schenker MB, Balmes JR, editors. Occupational and environmental respiratory disease. St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book; 1996. p. 293–321.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Sheard JDH, et al. Pneumothorax and malignant mesothelioma in patients over the age of 40. Thorax. 1991;46:584.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Law MR, Hodson ME, Heard BE. Malignant mesothelioma of the pleura: relation between histological type and clinical behaviour. Thorax. 1982;37:810.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Ruffie P, et al. Diffuse malignant mesothelioma of the pleura in Ontario and Quebec: a retrospective study of 332 patients. J Clin Oncol. 1981;7:1157.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Olesen LL, Thorshauge H. Thrombocytosis in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Cancer. 1988;62:1194.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Rudd RM. Malignant mesothelioma. Br Med Bull. 2010;93:105–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Munkholm-Larsen S, Cao CQ, Yan TD. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. World J Gastrointest Surg. 2009;1(1):38–48.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Antman KH. Current concepts: malignant mesothelioma. N Engl J Med. 1980;303:200–2.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Qureshi NR, Gleeson FV. Imaging of pleural disease. Clin Chest Med. 2006;27:193–213.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Gotfried MH, Quan SF, Sobonya RE. Diffuse epithelial pleural mesothelioma presenting as a solitary lung mass. Chest. 1983;84:99.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ng CS, Munden RF, Libshitz HI. Malignant pleural mesothelioma: the spectrum of manifestations on CT in 70 cases. Clin Radiol. 1999;54:415–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Mujoomdar AA, Sugarbaker DJ. Diffuse pleural malignancies. In: Sugarbaker DJ, Bueno R, Krasna MJ, Mentzer SJ, Zellos L, editors. Adult chest surgery. New York: McGraw Hill Medical; 2009. p. 838–48.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Heelan RT, Rusch VW, Begg CB, et al. Staging of malignant pleural mesothelioma: comparison of CT and MR imaging. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1999;172:1039–47.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Bernard F, Sterman D, Smith RJ, et al. Metabolic Imaging of malignant pleural mesothelioma with fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Chest. 1998;9:713–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Flores RM, Akhurst T, Gonen M, et al. Positron emission tomography defines metastatic disease but not locoregional disease in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2003;126:11–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Flores RM, Akhurst T, Gonen M, et al. Positron emission tomography predicts survival in malignant pleural mesothelioma. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2006;132:763–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Ismail-Khan R, Robinson LA, Williams CC, et al. Malignant pleural mesothelioma: a comprehensive review. Cancer Control. 2006;13:255–63.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Metintas M, Ozdemir N, Isiksoy S, et al. CT-guided pleural needle biopsy in the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 1995;19:370–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Agarwal PP, Seely JM, Matzinger FR, et al. Pleural mesothelioma: sensitivity and incidence of needle track seeding after image-guided biopsy versus surgical biopsy. Radiology. 2006;241:589–94.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Rai AJ, Flores RM, Mathew A, et al. Soluble mesothelin related peptides (SMRP) and osteopontin as protein biomarkers for malignant mesothelioma: analytical validation of ELISA based assays and characterization at mRNA and protein levels. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2010;48(2):271–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Robinson BW, Creaney J, Lake R, et al. Mesothelin-family proteins and diagnosis of mesothelioma. Lancet. 2003;362:1612–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. West SD, Lee GYC. Management of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Clin Chest Med. 2006;27:335–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Butchart EG, Ashcroft T, Barnsley WC, et al. Pleuropneumonectomy in the management of diffuse malignant mesothelioma of the pleura: experience with 29 patients. Thorax. 1976;31:15–24.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Edge SB, Byrd DR, Compton CC, editors. AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 7th ed. New York: Springer; 2010.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Naveed Z. Alam MD, FRCSC, FRACS

  2. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center, 1190 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Raja M. Flores MD

Authors
  1. Naveed Z. Alam MD, FRCSC, FRACS
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Raja M. Flores MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raja M. Flores MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Helsinki University Central Hospital and Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland

    Sisko Anttila

  2. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA

    Paolo Boffetta

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag London

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Alam, N.Z., Flores, R.M. (2014). Malignant Mesothelioma: Clinical and Imaging Findings. In: Anttila, S., Boffetta, P. (eds) Occupational Cancers. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2825-0_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2825-0_14

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-2824-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-2825-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation