Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma after thorotrast exposure

A case of a malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in a 63-year-old male patient with a history of exposure to Thorotrast in 1945 is presented. There was no history of exposure to asbestos. The clinical manifestation was a serosal effusion, which required weekly ascites puncture until therapy with intraperitoneal bleomycin was initiated. The latter treatment led to a significant reduction of ascites without any influence on tumor progression. Unfortunately, intraperitoneal bleomycin was accompanied by pulmonary toxicity, but at a higher total dose than known for intravenous administration. Three years after diagnosis the patient is still alive, without relapse of ascites production after bleomycin had to be stopped. Considering the risk of pulmonary fibrosis with high-dose intraperitoneal bleomycin and the lack of efficacy on tumor reduction, bleomycin seems to offer no advantage with respect to cisplatin.