Neurosurgical management of intracranial metastatic mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a relatively rare tumor arising from the pleura, most notably associated with exposure to asbestos1. Typically, mesothelioma is a locally aggressive tumor with a poor outcome in the order of months from the time of diagnosis2. Although cases of distant metastases of mesothelioma have been documented in the literature, this tumor has less reported cases of metastases than other malignancies of the chest, and most reported cases of metastases have been identified in autopsy studies, likely related to the short survival times of patients harboring these tumors. Brain metastases of mesothelioma are particularly uncommon, with approximately 100 cases documented3. Most commonly brain metastases have been discovered in autopsy studies of patients with mesothelioma, but in a small percentage of cases, the diagnosis was made before death. Neurosurgical Management of Intracranial Metastatic Mesothelioma