Differential Diagnosis Flashcards
6 cards from real Mesothelioma Diagnosis practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Differential Diagnosis flashcards as text
Which malignancy most commonly mimics pleural mesothelioma on imaging and requires IHC for differentiation?
Answer: Metastatic lung adenocarcinoma
Metastatic lung adenocarcinoma to the pleura can produce diffuse pleural thickening identical to mesothelioma on imaging, requiring IHC to differentiate.
Which IHC profile helps distinguish pleural mesothelioma (positive) from metastatic adenocarcinoma (negative)?
Answer: Calretinin positive, CEA negative
Mesothelioma characteristically stains positive for calretinin and negative for CEA, while the reverse pattern is seen in metastatic adenocarcinoma.
Reactive mesothelial hyperplasia must be distinguished from mesothelioma because:
Answer: It is benign and does not require cancer treatment
Reactive mesothelial hyperplasia is a benign response to pleural injury and infection; misdiagnosing it as mesothelioma would lead to unnecessary aggressive treatment.
Which condition most commonly causes benign pleural thickening that mimics mesothelioma on imaging?
Answer: Fibrothorax from prior empyema or hemothorax
Fibrothorax resulting from prior infection, hemorrhage, or trauma causes benign pleural fibrosis that can radiologically resemble malignant pleural disease.
Solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura (SFTP) is distinguished from mesothelioma by which key feature?
Answer: It is usually localized and has a pedunculated attachment to the pleura
SFTP is typically a well-circumscribed, pedunculated, localized mass attached to the pleura by a stalk, in contrast to the diffuse pleural involvement of mesothelioma.
Which IHC marker strongly supports synovial sarcoma over sarcomatoid mesothelioma in a chest wall/pleural spindle cell tumor?
Answer: TLE1 positivity with SYT-SSX fusion on FISH
TLE1 is a sensitive marker for synovial sarcoma, and the SYT-SSX translocation confirmed by FISH definitively distinguishes it from sarcomatoid mesothelioma.