Mesothelioma cancer the most common - after night !

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma cancer most commonly develops in the lungs of people exposed to asbestos.

Effective treatments are available to ease symptoms and improve your prognosis.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that is caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos. It can affect the thin, protective membrane surrounding the lungs, heart or abdominal cavity. An estimated 3,000 cases annually are diagnosed in the United States, and the majority of those are traced to an occupational exposure.

Although the use of asbestos has been reduced dramatically in recent decades, the incidence of mesothelioma has remained steady. It can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos before obvious symptoms appear and a definitive diagnosis is made. While there still is no cure - and the prognosis is typically poor - significant progress has been made in recent years regarding treatment options and various alternative therapies.

How Asbestos Causes Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma cancer develops after exposure to asbestos, which most often occurs in the workplace – in industrial settings, shipyards, auto repair shops, old houses, schools and public buildings. It takes long-term exposure to make someone at risk, but heavy, short-term asbestos exposure is known to cause mesothelioma cancer.

Microscopic asbestos fibers are breathed in or swallowed. The human body has difficulty destroying or getting rid of these fibers. Over decades, the fibers cause biological changes that result in inflammation, scarring and genetic damage. The most susceptible area to these fibers is the lining of the lungs, called the pleura, although fibers also can become trapped in the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum). Once fibers cause biological damage, the stage is set for a 20- to 50-year latency period for malignant mesothelioma to develop.

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Types and Symptoms

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of mesothelioma, representing about 75 percent of cases. Peritoneal mesothelioma is the second most common type, consisting of about 10 to 20 percent of cases. Approximately 1 percent of cases are of the pericardial variety. Another rare type known as testicular mesothelioma represents less than 1 percent of cases.

Pleural

This type forms in the lining of the lungs, and its increased incidence has allowed more studies to improve treatment methods and survival rates.

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Peritoneal

Developing in the lining of the abdominal cavity, peritoneal mesothelioma responds best to a combination of surgery and heated chemotherapy.

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Pericardial

Emerging from the lining of the heart, pericardial mesothelioma is the most challenging to treat because of the proximity of the tumors to the heart.

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Mesothelioma Symptoms

Because early symptoms of mesothelioma are so mild, few people notice or recognize them, and many don’t experience any symptoms until later stages of the cancer. Fatigue and slight pain around the tumor may surface in early stages. Late-stage malignant mesothelioma symptoms are more noticeable and commonly provoke someone to visit the doctor. These late-onset symptoms can include shortness of breath, chronic pain near the tumor, weight loss, fluid buildup or bowel obstruction. Effective therapies are available to relieve symptoms, and some treatments, like talc pleurodesis, can even prevent symptom recurrence.

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How Mesothelioma is Diagnosed

All patients have a unique path to a diagnosis, but the most important factors to an accurate diagnosis are imaging scans and biopsies. Doctors use several tests to diagnose mesothelioma. Most people initially undergo a basic chest X-ray to check for any abnormalities. If abnormal growth is detected, a doctor will recommend a more detailed imaging scan like a PET scan, CT scan or MRI. If mesothelioma is suspected, a biopsy will be recommended. In a biopsy, a tissue sample is collected to confirm the presence of mesothelioma cells.

Blood tests for mesothelioma are also available, but they do not confirm the presence of mesothelioma. Research and development is underway to determine if mesothelioma blood tests can aid in early diagnosis for at-risk former asbestos workers.

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Staging

There are at least five systems that doctors use for the staging of pleural mesothelioma. Older systems like those created by Drs. Butchart and Sugarbaker did not classify tumors with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) descriptors, so the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG) developed the detailed IMIG staging system in 1995. This system is the most widely used staging system for mesothelioma.

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Mesothelioma Treatment

Treatment options for mesothelioma include surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Many mesothelioma doctors prefer to combine two or more of these treatments, an approach known as multimodal therapy. Clinical trials show this approach has improved survival rates