Pathologic diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma: chronological prospect and advent of recommendations and guidelines

• Main Author: Valeria Ascoli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Istituto Superiore di Sanità 2015-03-01
• Series: Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità
• Subjects: mesothelioma; guidelines; pathology; diagnosis
• Online Access: http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0021-25712015000100009&lng=en&tlng=en

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is rare and difficult to diagnose. Its identification depends upon pathological investigation (cyto-histological assessment and immunohistochemistry) supported by clinical and radiological evidence. In the last decade, the standardization of diagnostic methods has become a major focus of debate among pathologists and clinicians. This has led to the writing of guidelines and recommendation for the diagnosis to achieve the goal of a standard diagnosis. In this article, a chronological view relating to the pathological diagnosis of MM is presented together with a review of guidelines and recommendations.