Primary intrahepatic malignant epithelioid mesothelioma

INTRODUCTION

Primary malignant hepatic mesotheliomas are extremely rare. We report the case of a patient with primary intrahepatic malignant mesothelioma who was treated in our department.

PRESENTATION OF CASE

A 66-year old male patient was admitted to our department for the evaluation of anemia. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a large space occupying lesion in the right liver lobe.

DISCUSSION

The tumor was subsequently resected and a diagnosis of primary intrahepatic malignant mesothelioma was made after pathologic examination. The patient did not receive adjuvant therapy and is currently alive and free of disease, 36 months after the resection.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge this is the eighth adult case of primary intrahepatic malignant mesothelioma reported in the literature. These tumors are rarely diagnosed preoperatively. Absence of previous asbestos exposure does not exclude malignant mesothelioma from the differential diagnosis. Proper surgical treatment may offer prolonged survival to the patient, without adjuvant therapy.