Mesothelioma - A rare cause of dysphagia

Swati Vishwanathan, Adebayo Fasanya, Farshaad Bilimoria, Parth Rali

Abstract

A 81-year-old elderly Caucasian male presented with progressive dysphagia and unintentional weight loss over four months. His history was significant for asbestos exposure; however there was no history of asbestos related lung disease. Barium swallow showed achalasia and a subsequent CT chest showed a posterior mediastinal mass 11.8×9.1×5.8cm, compressing the distal oesophagus. Laparoscopic biopsy of the mass showed an epitheloid mesothelioma. Mass was deemed unresectable and patient was started on chemotherapy with Cisplatin/Pemetrexed. Localised mesothelioma is extremely rare, and dysphagia can be uncommon presenting feature. 7.4 per cent of cases of Pseudoachalasia are attributed to mesothelioma.
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