[Malignant pleural mesotheliomas]

An increase in incidence of malignant pleural mesotheliomas has been noted recently. In order to assess our own experience, we reviewed all medical records and biopsies of patients who were seen with this diagnosis in Hospital Maria Ferrer between January 1986 and December 1997. Clinical data of 17 patients were analyzed. Mean age was 59 years, 76% were male. Industrial or environmental exposure to asbestos was established in 9 patients (53%). Most common symptoms at presentation were dyspnea (88%) and chest pain (65%). Pleural thickening with or without effusion was the usual finding in chest X rays and CAT scans. Biochemical analysis of pleural fluids was consistent with exudate. Diagnosis was performed by thoracotomy (47%), needle biopsy (23.5%) and videothoracoscopy (29.5%). Histological samples were available for review in 16 of the 17 patients: they were epithelial (10), sarcomatoid (2) and mixed tumors (4). Treatment reflected varying approaches. Palliative methods (pleurodesis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy) were preferred at the beginning while more aggressive interventions are performed nowadays. Pleuroneumonectomy alone or in combination with other therapies was carried out in 5 patients with no operative mortality although some complications occurred such as empyema, bronchopleural fistula and severe chest pain. Survival rate for all groups was 10.5 +/- 5.9 months. However, the mean survival of patients who underwent surgery was 17.5 +/- 2.1 months (p < 0.04) with an associated improvement in quality of life. Therefore, we consider that surgery associated with other therapies offers at present, the best therapeutic option for this bad prognosis condition.