title: Malignant pleural mesothelioma with scalp, cerebellar, and finger metastases: a rare case.
abstract: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and asbestosis-associated tumor. MPM commonly invades locally, mostly in the lung, heart, pericardium, chest wall, and vertebrae. Distant metastasis of MPM is very rare. Here we report a patient with MPM who presented with multiple unusual distant metastases. The patient's thorax tomography demonstrated right-sided, irregularly-thickened pleura with nodular masses and invasion of the chest wall into the subcutaneous area. The patient underwent biopsy for a subcutaneous mass in the right anterior chest wall. Pathologic examination revealed a malignant mesenchymal tumor. During follow-up, he suffered from a painful nodule on the scalp and nodules on the fingers, as well as weakness in his right arm. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging illustrated a 1 cm nodule in the left cerebellar hemisphere. Histopathologic examination of the biopsy from the nodule on the scalp revealed a typical mixed type of MPM, with calretinin, vimentin and creatine 5/6 positivity. Distant metastases can be seen in MPM and a biopsy of metastatic regions can yield the diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Gazi University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. kanbaydr@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Asiye
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanbay
authors.forename: Kivilcim Ipek
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Oguzulgen
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ozturk
authors.forename: Leyla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Memis
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demircan
authors.forename: Can
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kurkcuoglu
authors.forename: Nalan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akyurek
authors.forename: Cuneyt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kurul
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005385:Fingers; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010997:Pleural Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D012535:Scalp; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*