Asbestos Cancer: Mesothelioma

Malignant Mesothelioma While relatively rare, with between 2000 and 3000 new cases reported in the U.S. each year, malignant mesothelioma is still a significant risk to people exposed to asbestos. Because mesothelioma symptoms are similar to those of other diseases, and because the disease can take 40 years or more to manifest after asbestos exposure, there is some concern about misdiagnosed mesothelioma cases and questions as to whether this asbestos cancer is underreported. However, it is agreed that asbestos exposure is the primary cause; in almost all cases, patients who are diagnosed with mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos in the past.
More men are diagnosed with mesothelioma than women, although the gap between men and women is closing. The rate of female patients with mesothelioma has remained relatively steady while men's rates have dropped. It is thought that this discrepancy is due to fewer men being exposed to asbestos at work since health and safety regulations have been enacted in what have often been male-dominated occupations such as construction, railroad work, and shipbuilding. Like other cancers, the risk of developing an asbestos cancer such as mesothelioma increases with age.
When asbestos fibers are inhaled or swallowed, they can work their way to mesothelium tissues, which are the linings that surround organs in the body cavity. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the pleura, the covering around the lung. While pleural mesothelioma is the most common form, peritoneal mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the abdomen) can also be the result of asbestos exposure. In addition to pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, cancer can develop in the lining around the heart. This cancer, called pericardial mesothelioma, is the least common of the mesotheliomas.
Pleural Effusion Ninety percent of all pleural mesothelioma patients experience shortness of breath or some sort of chest pains. Over 80% develop pleural effusions, or an increase of fluids between the linings of the lungs and the linings of the chest. In some cases, pleural effusions do not cause discomfort and are only found when the chest is x-rayed. Other symptoms may include unexpected weight loss, loss of appetite, fever, or coughing up blood.
The symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma can include losing weight even while experiencing an increase in the size of the waist. Some patients retain fluids or develop tumors in their abdomens, leading to swelling or pain in that area. Other symptoms may include anemia, fever, and blockages in the intestines.
Diagnosis generally starts with an X-ray, MRI, or CAT scan of the abdomen or chest. Additional tests might include a thoracoscopy, a procedure that involves cutting between two ribs and inserting a thoroscope into the chest, or a peritoneoscopy, where a peritoneoscope is inserted through an incision into the abdomen.
Surgery, although infrequent, is one method of treating mesothelioma. The location and size of the cancerous tumor determines the type of surgery required. A surgeon may have to remove some of the abdominal lining, part of the chest, or part of a lung. Radiation, both external and internal, and chemotherapy are other therapies that are used to fight mesothelioma.
Several new types of treatments for mesothelioma are also being studied. Intraoperative photodynamic therapy involves injecting a drug that makes the cancer sensitive to light a few days before surgery. During surgery, a special type of light is shined on the cancerous area in addition to removing as much of the tumor as possible. In addition, both immunotherapy, which is a treatment that involves using the patient's own immune system to fight mesothelioma, and gene therapy to change the genes involved in growing cancerous tumors are in clinical test stages.
Unfortunately, mesothelioma cannot be cured with today's medical knowledge, and the average survival time after diagnosis is only one year. About 10% of people diagnosed with mesothelioma survive for more than five years.