The recurrence of malignant pleural mesothelioma 14 years after extrapleural pneumonectomy: possible histological transformation.

A 56-year-old man underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The histological diagnosis was epithelioid mesothelioma with T2N0M0, and no sarcomatoid component was observed. Subsequently, 14 years after complete resection, screening computed tomography detected a rapidly growing right thoracic mass, which was diagnosed as a recurrence of MPM on resection. However, it was composed of both epithelioid (50%) and sarcomatoid (50%) components, suggesting possible histological transformation. Although there have been some previous reports on the recurrence of MPM, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical case which indicated that histological transformation of MPM might occur.