[Malignant mesothelioma in the peritoneal cavity - a case report]

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare tumour with an incidence of 0.53 cases per million inhabitants. Only about 20% of cases occur in the peritoneum. The authors use the case report of a male patient with malignant mesothelioma occurring in the peritoneal cavity to demonstrate the difficulty of preoperative diagnosis: preoperative examinations made the authors consider a primary liver tumour and only definitive histological examination revealed the diagnosis. The discussion deals with the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of this rare disease and underlines the unique role of surgical therapy in its management.