Peritoneal mesothelioma in a case of inguinal hernia. A review of the literature

Ann Ital Chir. 2003 Sep-Oct;74(5):583-7.

Abstract

The peritoneal mesothelioma (PM) is a rare, benign or malignant, primary tumour, arising from the peritoneal membrane. The most frequent histological form is the malignant one with an incidence of 2-2.6 new cases per million per year. The symptomatology is insidious and poses difficult problems in the diagnosis and the treatment. Instrumental diagnostic investigations are useful only in the diagnostic orientation. Only the pathologic examination allows to distinguish a peritoneal carcinomatosis from PM. The prognosis of MPM is pour. An intense multimodal therapy, combining surgery with CT and RT, increases the survival rates in the patients with MPM. It has been proposed that hernia of abdominal wall play a role in the pathogenesis of this tumor. We believe that hypothesis seems unlikely considering the enormous discrepancy between the incidence of hernial pathology and PM.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / administration & dosage
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / administration & dosage
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Cisplatin / administration & dosage
  • Cisplatin / therapeutic use
  • Epirubicin / administration & dosage
  • Epirubicin / therapeutic use
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Hernia, Inguinal / complications*
  • Hernia, Inguinal / surgery
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mesothelioma* / diagnosis
  • Mesothelioma* / drug therapy
  • Mesothelioma* / mortality
  • Mesothelioma* / pathology
  • Middle Aged
  • Mitomycin / administration & dosage
  • Mitomycin / therapeutic use
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Peritoneal Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Peritoneum / pathology
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Epirubicin
  • Mitomycin
  • Cisplatin