Case 5

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Abstract
A 53-year-old man with a heavy exposure to asbestos 25 years earlier was admitted to the East Orange Veterans Administration Medical Center with a rapidly enlarging chest wall mass of 4-5 weeks duration. The mass, overlying the ninth and tenth ribs in the infraaxillary area, was firm. On X-ray the ribs appeared eroded and the mass was seen to extend into the pleural space. A chest wall resection was performed, and the tumor was sharply dissected from the diaphragm to which it was firmly adherent. Grossly, it measured 7.5 X 5.0 X 3.0 cm and was yellow-tan with homogeneous and nodular areas The inferior aspect of the ninth rib was obviously involved and the tumor extended between the pleura and intercostal muscle. The patient did not receive further therapy and was asymptomatic 7 months after surgery.
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