title: Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: a case report.
abstract: Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare disease, not previously reported in Taiwan. The reported case concerns a 64-year-old veteran who had suffered from abdominal pain and distension for several days. After exploratory laparotomy, segmental resection of the small intestine, excised a mesenteric mass. A characteristic biphasic pattern resulting from the admixture of gland-like area and a sarcomatous stroma presented in the histologic section. A series of histochemical, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies proved this to be a malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. The patient died after a course of post-operative chemotherapy. History of asbestos exposure, with which the tumor is usually intimately associated, could not be traced with certainty. Poor prognosis is the rule of the disease; almost all patients die within two years of diagnosis. An effective therapeutic modality is still unavailable. Here the clinical and pathologic characteristics of the tumor are described, with a brief review and discussion of the pathogenesis as well as the obscured therapeutic problem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D018396:Mucin-1; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D018396:Mucin-1