Splenic localization of the peritoneal mesothelioma: case report and literature revue

Abstract

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of malignant mesothelioma, making up <30% of diagnosed mesothelioma cases. Because of a lack of specific symptoms (abdominal pain, abdominal swelling), normally it is diagnosed in advanced stages, sometimes in a surgical emergency (intestinal obstruction, severe ascites) and occasionally during image procedures or laparoscopy which can show a mass developing from peritoneal mesothelium surfaces, or an accumulation of small irregularities that may be tumors or plaques. The reported case refers to a particular localization of a peritoneal mesothelioma, the spleen, discovered only after a splenectomy, due to the clinical and radiological suspect of a rupture.