Malignant mesothelioma of the peritoneum is rather unusual and is only 10-20% of malignant mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma is pleural recognized by its location. The etiology of malignant mesothelioma is in 80% of cases prior contact with asbestos but there are cases without specific cause. The prognosis for MPM is poor with median survival of 5.4 months versus 12.5 months for pleural mesothelioma. The diagnosis of MPM is often difficult and requires surgical biopsies by laparoscopy or laparotomy or ascitic cytology. A surgical cytoreduction combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy is the best therapeutic approach for MPM but unfortunately often advanced disease at diagnosis. We must therefore resort to systemic chemotherapy based on platinum or symptomatic treatments.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.