Rare Manifestation of Epithelioid Type Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Recurrent Pneumothorax

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive tumor that leads to approximately 20,000 deaths per year. The most common symptoms are chest pain, shortness of breath, cough and weight loss. Radiologic studies usually reveal pleural thickening and pleural effusion, although the disease can also rarely present with spontaneous pneumothorax or hydropneumothorax. We present here a case of a 57-year-old male diagnosed with occult epithelioid type MPM based on video thoracoscopic (VATS) exploration and biopsy who experienced recurrent pneumothorax attacks and prolonged air leakage. Although there are few symptoms or imaging findings specific to MPM, elderly patients with recurrent pneumothorax attacks should be questioned for asbestos exposure, and MPM should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis.

Epiteloid Tip Malign Plevral Mezotelyoma'nýn Nadir Prezentasyonu: Tekrarlayan Pnömotoraks

Malign plevral mezotelyoma (MPM), yýlda yaklaþýk 20.000 ölüme neden olan nadir ve agresif bir tümördür. En sýk görülen semptomlar göðüs aðrýsý, nefes darlýðý, öksürük ve kilo kaybýdýr. Radyolojik incelemeler genellikle plevral kalýnlaþma ve plevral efüzyonu ortaya koyar ancak hastalýk nadiren spontan pnömotoraks veya hidropnömotoraksla da ortaya çýkabilir. Bu olgu sunumunda tekrarlayan pnömotoraks ataklarý ve uzamýþ hava kaçaðý olan 57 yaþýndaki erkek hastada video torakoskopik (VATS) inceleme ve biyopsi ile taný alan epiteloid tip MPM sunulmaktadýr. MPM'ye özgü herhangi bir semptom veya görüntüleme bulgusu olmasa da tekrarlayan pnömotoraks ataðý geçiren yaþlý hastalar asbest maruziyeti açýsýndan sorgulanmalý ve ayýrýcý tanýda MPM akýlda tutulmalýdýr.