HE SUBJECT OF MESOTHELIAL TUMORS is in T a confused state, and it is with some hesitation that we present this case report.
Cells of the mesothelium can take different morphological forms. Maximow first noted the transition of benign mesothelial cells to fibroblasts and the formation of collagen fibers. Stout and Murray12 and later Sano et al. showed that mesothelial cells can assume either an epithelial or fibroblastic appearance with the formation of collagen or reticulin fibers.
In recent years, authentic cases of various types of benign and malignant mesotheliomas have been reported in increasing numbers. Stoutlo? 11 recently described a solitary fibrous mesothelioma, a tumor that apparently had not previously been recognized. Stumpf reported a case of peritoneal mesothelioma in which there were three distinct cell varieties coexisting in the same tumor. This multipotentiality of the malignant mesothelial cell, coupled with the fact that lesions previously reported as mesothelioma could, in many instances, have been interpreted as lesions of nonmesothelial origin, has led to confusion.
The purpose of this report is not to enter this controversy but to present a case of peritoneal mesothelioma, studied at the University of Pennsylvania, that responded to radiation therapy.
CASE REPORT
Mrs. M., a 50-year-old housewife, was first seen in the Radiology Department of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in November, 1946. Her complaint at that time was a tender nodule in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen.