Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a tumor of mesodermal origin that arises from the serosa of the pleura, peritoneum, pericardium or tunica vaginalis. MPM is well known to have a poor prognosis with a median survival time of 12 months. Accurate diagnosis, staging and restaging of MPM are crucial with [18F] flurodeoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET/CT) playing an increasingly important role. Here we report a case of MPM with unusual contiguous soft tissue spread of the tumor along the dermal and fascial planes characterized by PET/CT. Given that the loco-regional tumor in the thorax was under control on PET/CT, the death of the patient was most likely associated with physiologic or metabolic causes associated with an extra-thoracic tumor.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Mesoderm ; Mesothelioma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pericardium ; Peritoneum ; Pleura ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Prognosis ; Serous Membrane ; Thorax