[Malignant pleural mesothelioma: diagnosis and treatment]

Pleural Neoplasms-What Could MRI Change?

The primary pleural neoplasms constitute around 10% of the pleural tumors. The currently recommended method for their imaging is CT which has been shown to have certain limitations. Strong development of the MRI within the last two decades has provided us with a number of sequences that could potentially be superior to CT when it comes to the pleural malignancies' detection and characterization. This literature review discusses the possible applications of the MRI as a diagnostic tool in patients with pleural neoplasms. Although selected MRI techniques have been shown to have a number of advantages over CT, further research is required in order to confirm the obtained results, broaden our knowledge on the topic, and pinpoint the sequences most optimal for pleural imaging, as well as the best methods for reading and analysis of the obtained data.

[Malignant pleural mesothelioma: The role of surgery]

INTRODUCTION

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and highly aggressive disease, whose incidence is increasing. Asbestos is the primary causal agent.

STATE OF KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge about MPM has evolved. Thoracoscopy is essential for diagnosis of MPM. It allows performing pleural biopsies, to study the extent of the disease and to relieve dyspnea. The pathological diagnosis is also better codified with immunohistochemistry and with analysis by expert of Mesopath group. Curative surgical treatments are pleurectomy decortication and extended pneumonectomy in combination with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Those heavy treatments improve survival in highly selected patients. For the other patients, supportive measures will be considered to reduce pain and dyspnea.

PROSPECT

Radical surgical treatment is only offered in therapeutic trials or multimodal treatment. Its place is not formally established. New therapies associated to surgical treatment are being studied.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical management of MPM has to be operated in specialized teams where the survival benefit and quality of life is discussed case by case.

[Asbestos and respiratory diseases]

Previous occupational asbestos exposure (more rarely environmental or domestic exposure) may induce various pleural and/or pulmonary, benign or malignant diseases, sometimes with a very long latency for malignant mesothelioma (MM). Asbestos has been widely extracted and used in Western countries and in emerging or developing countries, resulting in a peak of MM incidence in France around 2020 and likely in a world pandemic of asbestos-induced diseases. These patients have mostly benign respiratory diseases (pleural plugs) but may also be diagnosed with lung cancer or malignant pleural mesothelioma, and have a global poor outcome. New therapeutic tools (targeted therapies, immunotherapy…) with first promising results are developed. However, it is crucial to obtain a full ban of asbestos use worldwide, and to do a regular follow-up of asbestos-exposed subjects, mostly if they are already diagnosed with benign respiratory diseases. Finally, new cancers (larynx and ovary) were recently added to the list of asbestos-induced tumors.