Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1982 Nov;37(11):810–815. doi: 10.1136/thx.37.11.810

Malignant mesothelioma of the pleura: relation between histological type and clinical behaviour.

M R Law, M E Hodson, B E Heard
PMCID: PMC459432  PMID: 7163998

Abstract

The differing clinical behaviour of malignant mesothelioma of different cell types was studied in 115 cases of pleural mesothelioma, classified histologically into epithelial (60), sarcomatous (25), and mixed (30). Epithelial mesotheliomas were associated with clinical features characteristic of carcinomas rather than sarcomas, including spread of tumour by direct extension, large pleural effusions, contralateral pleural effusions, ascites, metastases in regional lymph nodes, and occasional response to radiotherapy. Sarcomatous mesotheliomas were associated with clinical features more characteristic of sarcomas, with more frequent distant metastases, little or no effusion, and shorter survival. Mixed tumours had features of both, large pleural effusions occurring as frequently as with epithelial tumours, but survival being almost as poor as in sarcomatous cases. Despite these differences there is evidence from published reports that epithelial, sarcomatous, and mixed mesotheliomas have a common origin from mesothelial cells or their precursor cells.

Full text

PDF
810

Images in this article

811Image
on p.811
811Image
on p.811
812Image
on p.812

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alvarez-Fernandez E., Diez-Nau M. D. Malignant fibrosarcomatous mesothelioma and benign pleural fibroma (localized fibrous mesothelioma) in tissue culture: a comparison of the in vitro pattern of growth in relation to the cell of origin. Cancer. 1979 May;43(5):1658–1663. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197905)43:5<1658::aid-cncr2820430515>3.0.co;2-y. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bolen J. W., Thorning D. Mesotheliomas: a light- and electron-microscopical study concerning histogenetic relationships between the epithelial and the mesenchymal variants. Am J Surg Pathol. 1980 Oct;4(5):451–464. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Donna A., Betta P. G. Mesodermomas: a new embryological approach to primary tumours of coelomic surfaces. Histopathology. 1981 Jan;5(1):31–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.1981.tb01764.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Echevarria R. A., Arean V. M. Ultrastructural evidence of secretory differentiation in a malignant pleural mesothelioma. Cancer. 1968 Aug;22(2):323–332. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(196808)22:2<323::aid-cncr2820220209>3.0.co;2-m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Elmes P. C., Simpson J. C. The clinical aspects of mesothelioma. Q J Med. 1976 Jul;45(179):427–449. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HOURIHANE D. O. THE PATHOLOGY OF MESOTHELIOMATA AND AN ANALYSIS OF THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH ASBESTOS EXPOSURE. Thorax. 1964 May;19:268–278. doi: 10.1136/thx.19.3.268. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hasan F. M., Nash G., Kazemi H. The significance of asbestos exposure in the diagnosis of mesothelioma: a 28-year experience from a major urban hospital. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1977 May;115(5):761–768. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1977.115.5.761. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Legha S. S., Muggia F. M. Pleural mesothelioma: clinical features and therapeutic implications. Ann Intern Med. 1977 Nov;87(5):613–621. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-87-5-613. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Legrand M., Pariente R. Ultrastructural study of pleural fluid in mesothelioma. Thorax. 1974 Mar;29(2):164–171. doi: 10.1136/thx.29.2.164. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McCAUGHEY W. T. Primary tumours of the pleura. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1958 Oct;76(2):517–529. doi: 10.1002/path.1700760222. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McDonald A. D., Magner D., Eyssen G. Primary malignant mesothelial tumors in Canada, 1960-1968. A pathologic review by the Mesothelioma Panel of the Canadian Tumor Reference Centre. Cancer. 1973 Apr;31(4):869–876. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197304)31:4<869::aid-cncr2820310416>3.0.co;2-s. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Mosby E. L., Hiatt W. R. Apertognathia: its challenge and conquest. Report of a case. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1977 May;43(5):658–664. doi: 10.1016/0030-4220(77)90047-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ratzer E. R., Pool J. L., Melamed M. R. Pleural mesotheliomas. Clinical experiences with thirty-seven patients. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med. 1967 Apr;99(4):863–880. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Roberts G. H. Distant visceral metastases in pleural mesothelioma. Br J Dis Chest. 1976 Oct;70(4):246–250. doi: 10.1016/0007-0971(76)90039-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. SANO M. E., WEISS E., GAULT E. S. Pleural mesothelioma; further evidence of its histogenesis. J Thorac Surg. 1950 May;19(5):783–788. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Suzuki Y., Kannerstein M. Ultrastructure of human malignant diffuse mesothelioma. Am J Pathol. 1976 Nov;85(2):241–262. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Wang N. S. Electron microscopy in the diagnosis of pleural mesotheliomas. Cancer. 1973 May;31(5):1046–1054. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197305)31:5<1046::aid-cncr2820310502>3.0.co;2-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Whitwell F., Rawcliffe R. M. Diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure. Thorax. 1971 Jan;26(1):6–22. doi: 10.1136/thx.26.1.6. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES