Ann Thorac Surg Res | Volume 1, Issue 1 | Case Report | Open Access

A Case Report of Localized Pleural Malignant Mesothelioma: A Great Pretender Mimicking a Thymoma

Vittorio Aprile^1*, Pietro Bertoglio², Gaetano Romano¹, Greta Alì³, Giovanni Guglielmi⁴, Marcello Carlo Ambrogi¹ and Marco Lucchi¹

¹Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Pisa, Italy
²Division of Thoracic Surgery, Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Research Hospital and Cancer Care Centre, Italy
³Department of Surgery, Division of Anatomic Pathology, University of Pisa, Italy
⁴Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Occupational Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy

^*Correspondance to: Aprile Vittorio 

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Abstract

Localized pleural Malignant Mesothelioma (LMM) is a rare neoplasm arising from mesothelial cells and histologically undistinguishable from diffuse Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma [1]. LMM is generally presented as a well-circumscribed lesion, frequently capsulated but always without gross or microscopic diffuse pleural spreading. Because of these characteristics, LMM might be clinically and radiologically confused with other pleural or mediastinal lesions, and clinical diagnosis may be therefore challenging. We report the case of a patient with an asymptomatic finding of an anterior mediastinum mass suspected for thymoma and treated with a radical excision via sternotomy. Histological examination showed a Localized Malignant Mesothelioma (LMM).

Citation:

Aprile V, Bertoglio P, Romano G, Alì G, Guglielmi G, Carlo Ambrogi M, et al. A Case Report of Localized Pleural Malignant Mesothelioma: A Great Pretender Mimicking a Thymoma. Ann Thorac Surg Res. 2019;1(1):1004.