[Pleural mesothelioma--problems in diagnosis and clinical course in 25 patients]

Patients with benign pleurafibromas should undergo surgery as suspect thoracic tumors have the potential to become malignant. In benign cases diagnosis can easily be made during the operation. In such a case the prognosis is good and it is seldom necessary to undergo repeated surgery due to recurrence. In the case of malignant pleuramesothelioma the preoperative diagnosis with an exact staging of the tumor is very important to determine an adequate therapeutic regimen. X-ray, CT-scanning, tapping of the pleura fluid and biopsy of the pleura are together insufficient to diagnose a pleuramesothelioma correctly. Since it is not always possible to diagnose a malignant pleuramesothelioma even at thoracoscopy, one should not hesitate to perform an open lung biopsy in order to obtain enough material under adequate vision.