Distant visceral metastases in pleural mesothelioma

Distant visceral metastases were found in 15 of 32 cases of pleural mesothelioma (47%). Contrary to earlier reports pleural mesothelioma should be regarded as a tumour in which visceral metastases are not uncommon. No association was found between the histological type of mesothelioma and visceral metastases; the peritoneal involvement found in five cases is probably due to local infiltration and seeding.