Analysis of 5 cases of occupational asbestos-induced pleural mesothelioma / 中国职业医学

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics of 5 cases of occupational asbestos-induced pleural mesothelioma. METHODS: The clinical features and occupational diagnostic data of 5 patients with pleural mesothelioma caused by occupational asbestos exposure were collected. The occupational history, the occupational hazard exposure history, the length of latency, the clinical features, chest computed tomography(CT) and immunohistochemical staining examination of these 5 patients were analyzed. RESULTS: The median of occupational asbestos exposure length was 8 years and the median of latent period was 30 years in these 5 patients. One patient had been diagnosed as occupational asbestos lung. Typical chest CT findings of asbestos-induced pleural mesothelioma were one-sided pleural effusion, pleural nodules and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. The clinical symptoms were mainly chest pain, cheat tightness, and fatigue. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate increased in 3 cases. According to immunohistochemical findings, 4 patients showed that melanocortin, calretinin, cytokeratin 5/6, and cytokeratin 7 were positive, and 3 patients showed that wilms′ tumor nuclear protein were positive. Examination of lung function in 4 patients showed restrictive ventilation dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Most patients with pleura mesothelioma showed insignificant symptoms at early stage. The occupational health surveillance and chest CT examination of occupational asbestos-exposed workers should be strengthened, and early diagnosis should be made as soon as possible to win surgical opportunities.