pleural mesothelioma

Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare and malignant cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma tumors form in the pleura, a thin membrane of cells that line the lungs and chest wall.

How Is Pleural Mesothelioma Unique?

As the most common

type of asbestos-related cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma accounts for approximately 80 – 90 percent of all mesothelioma cases. Pleural mesothelioma differs from other types in four primary ways:

Location: Pleural mesothelioma is located in the linings of the lungs and the chest wall, known as the pleura.

Symptoms: As the disease mostly affects the lungs, the primary symptoms affect the respiratory system, such as shortness of breath, or the thoracic cavity, such as chest pain.

Treatment: The standard treatment for pleural mesothelioma is surgery, which often includes removal of some or all of the pleura and possibly part of the lung, combined with chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Survival: The prognosis for pleural mesothelioma is poor, with a median survival time of about 1 year. However, there are cases of long-term survival, in some cases as long as 20 years.

What is the Prognosis for Pleural Mesothelioma?

As with all types of mesothelioma, prognosis for pleural mesothelioma is relatively poor. For patients who do not receive treatment, the median survival is only six months; however, certain types of treatment can improve life expectancy significantly.

The biggest factors affecting the prognosis of pleural mesothelioma patients are:

· Tumor size and staging

· Cell type (histopathology)

· Patient’s gender and age

Stage of the cancer

What are the Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma?

Anywhere from 20 to 50 years can pass between the time a person is exposed to asbestos and when pleural mesothelioma symptoms begin to appear. Once symptoms do begin to occur, they often show up first in the chest and respiratory system, although some symptoms (like weight loss or fever) can be systemic.

Pleural mesothelioma can also be accompanied by a set of other conditions that could display symptoms of their own. These include:

Pleural plaque – a chalky substance that forms on the lungs due to calcification

Diffuse pleural thickening (DPT) – Gray, fibrous tissue that fills in pleural spaces

Asbestosis – Scarring of the lungs (fibrosis)

These conditions may also occur on their own in individuals who do not have pleural mesothelioma.

How is Pleural Mesothelioma Diagnosed?

The first step is usually to perform one or more imaging tests (x-ray, CT scans, PET, or MRI) to identify potential tumors. If such a tumor is detected, one or more blood tests may be performed to look for certain biomarkers (high levels of specific substances in the blood). If these tests point toward the possibility of mesothelioma, the diagnosis will need to be verified through a biopsy – usually through a thoracoscopy, thoracotomy, thoracentesis, or mediastinoscopy.

Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare and malignant cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma tumors form in the pleura, a thin membrane of cells that line the lungs and chest wall.

Parts of the Lung Affected by Pleural Mesothelioma

How Is Pleural Mesothelioma Unique?

As the most common type of asbestos-related cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma accounts for approximately 80 – 90 percent of all mesothelioma cases. Pleural mesothelioma differs from other types in four primary ways:

Location: Pleural mesothelioma is located in the linings of the lungs and the chest wall, known as the pleura.

Symptoms: As the disease mostly affects the lungs, the primary symptoms affect the respiratory system, such as shortness of breath, or the thoracic cavity, such as chest pain.

Treatment: The standard treatment for pleural mesothelioma is surgery, which often includes removal of some or all of the pleura and possibly part of the lung, combined with chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Survival: The prognosis for pleural mesothelioma is poor, with a median survival time of about 1 year. However, there are cases of long-term survival, in some cases as long as 20 years.

What You Need to Know About Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of asbestos-related cancer.

About 2,500 people are diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma each year.

Standard treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Cause

Asbestos inhalation

Location

Lung/chest lining (pleura)

Common Symptoms

Chest pain

Dyspnea (shortness of breath)

Pleural effusion (fluid buildup)

Treatment

Surgery

Chemotherapy

Radiation

Prognosis

6 – 12 months

What is the Prognosis for Pleural Mesothelioma?

The biggest factors affecting the prognosis of pleural mesothelioma patients are:

Tumor size and staging

Cell type (histopathology)

Patient’s gender and age

Stage of the cancer

Resources for Pleural Mesothelioma Patients

Request a Free Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment Guide

Connect with Top Mesothelioma Oncologists

Locate the Nearest Comprehensive Cancer Center

Support a Loved One Diagnosed with Pleural Mesothelioma

Financial Assistance Available to Help with Treatment Costs

What are the Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma?

Common SymptomsLess Common Symptoms

Common Symptoms

Chest pain

Shortness of breath (dyspnea)

Fluid in the lungs (pleural effusion)

Dry cough

Pleural mesothelioma can also be accompanied by a set of other conditions that could display symptoms of their own. These include:

Pleural plaque – a chalky substance that forms on the lungs due to calcification

Diffuse pleural thickening (DPT) – Gray, fibrous tissue that fills in pleural spaces

Asbestosis – Scarring of the lungs (fibrosis)

These conditions may also occur on their own in individuals who do not have pleural mesothelioma.

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sarcomatoid mesothelioma

Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is distinguished by spindle-shaped cells which make very aggressive and hard to treat tumors. As the rarest type of mesothelioma, just 10 percent of all cases are rigorously sarcomatoid, although sarcomatoid cells can also be found in biphasic mesothelioma.

What’s Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma?

Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is quite tough to diagnose, and lots of patients are misdiagnosed initially. Along with being very infrequent, sarcomatoid cancerous cells may seem like healthy tissue, which makes it much more difficult to ascertain if they are cancerous. The only way to tell for certain would be to have a tissue sample by biopsy and ship for laboratory evaluation.

sarcomatoid mesothelioma

Sarcomatoid is among three main mesothelioma cell types. Both would be epithelioid and biphasic.

Where it happens

Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is most often found in the pelvic cavity. The lungs are lined with 2 mesothelial layers that allow the lungs to expand and contract inside the torso. Gradually, asbestos particles trapped inside the liner can lead to cancer cells to develop, eventually limiting the lungs from moving freely.

Sarcomatoid cells are present with epithelioid cells at roughly 30 — 40 percent of all mesothelioma cases, a condition called biphasic mesothelioma. This kind of mesothelioma most often occurs in the lining around the gut (peritoneal mesothelioma) and at the lining around the heart (pericardial mesothelioma).

How it grows

Asbestos vulnerability is associated with the majority of instances of sarcomatoid mesothelioma. The asbestos kind most closely linked to mesothelioma has little, needle-like fibers which, after inhaled, puncture the lungs and gradually work their way through the tissue until they are lodged in the lining of the lung.

After asbestos is lodged from the mesothelium, they could create inflammation and induce the cells to mutate, thereby forming cancer.

Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma Subtypes

There are numerous subtypes of sarcomatoid mesothelioma.

Lymphohistiocytoid

This biphasic (but logically sarcomatoid) type of mesothelioma is made up chiefly of a package of resistant cells.

Desmoplastic

This basically sarcomatoid cell-type is called “bland.” It’s often misdiagnosed as a benign fibroid.

Heterologous

The majority of the rare, these cell-types are distinct compared to cells where the cancer is shaped, for example bone cells could be located in tumors not connected to bone.

Osteosarcomatous

Exceedingly rare, that this mesothelioma cell-type is constructed from bone cells.

Chondrosarcomatous

All these spindle cells are out of cartilage.

Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma Incidence, Prognosis and Survival Rates

There are lots of things working against sarcomatoid mesothelioma sufferers. It’s a challenge to diagnose properly, and is often diagnosed late. In addition, this kind of mesothelioma is much more likely to metastasize (spread) compared to other cell types, which makes it even more deadly.

Each of these factors lead to the fact that the majority of patients reside at most 6 weeks following identification, although some live more. Some individuals have lived 5 decades or more — but they’re quite few.

Factors which Affect Prognosis

GenderIn most research, female mesothelioma sufferers have more rates of survival compared to males.AgeYounger mesothelioma patients generally get a much better prognosis than older patients.MetastasisIf the cancer spreads until it’s diagnosed, the prognosis is generally poor.HistologyHistology describes the cancer cell form. Mesothelioma patients with sarcomatoid cells have a much worse prognosis compared to those with epithelioid or biphasic mobile types.StageEarlier phases of mesothelioma (Phase 1 and 2) have a much better prognosis compared to later stages (Phase 4 and 3).

Since most incidences of mesothelioma are brought on by asbestos exposure, the duration and quantity of exposure will add to the aggressiveness of the disease.

Survival and Espresso

Sarcomatoid mesothelioma constitutes just 5 — 10 percent of all mesothelioma cases, and fewer studies have appeared at sarcomatoid forms than epithelioid or biphasic forms. Consequently, there are no large studies which may correctly reveal survival rates by phase.

Cancer staging depends upon measuring the tumor dimensions, the spread into the lymph nodes, and also the existence of metastasis. For all sorts of mesothelioma, the survival rates vary from period 1 in 21 weeks to stage 4 in 12 months. As previously mentioned, it is substantially less for people diagnosed with sarcomatoid tumors.

Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma Symptoms and Diagnosis

Many sarcomatoid mesothelioma develops in the pleura (lining of the lungs); nevertheless, other symptoms can arise if it develops in the abdominal lining (peritoneum). Generally, the symptoms experienced will rely on the location of this tumor compared to the mesothelioma cell form.

Pleural

Peritoneal

Pleural

Difficulty breathing

Chest pain

Poor sleep

Weakness

Easily drained

Fluid in lungs (pleural effusion)

Fever

Unintended weight

reduction of appetite

Diagnosis

People who start to undergo mesothelioma symptoms need to seek medical care straight away. The earlier doctors can start their diagnostic evaluations, the greater likelihood of survival. This is particularly true for anybody that has a history of asbestos exposure.

Since sarcomatoid cells seem like healthy tissue, this kind of mesothelioma is extremely tricky to diagnose properly. It can easily be mistaken for distinct sarcomas or alternative kinds of lung cancer.

After accepting the patient’s health history, the physician will often dictate imaging evaluations, like an X-ray, CT scan, or MRI. The radiologist can review the pictures for tumor cells or some other abnormalities which could explain the signs. If warranted, further tests will be run.

Biomarkers

Mesothelioma often causes fluid to build up around the lungs. This fluid may be extracted with a variety of procedures and then analyzed for a variety of biomarkers — elements that stage to a specific kind of disorder.

Physicians biopsy the tumor by creating a small incision near the tumor. Until today, the evaluations are checking to see whether there’s an issue. As soon as they have biopsy substance, they could eventually discover which kind of disorder the patient has.

Histology

The biopsied tissue will offer a pathologist with sufficient information to diagnose the illness. For example the most straightforward way to differentiate sarcomatoid mesothelioma from several sarcomas is to check the tissue to get a chemical called cytokeratin. Sarcomatoid mesothelioma tumors express this protein, although the identical appearing sarcomas don’t.

They’ll also carry out a test called atomic grading. This assesses the nucleus of these cells and contrasts them to samples of known ailments.

Remedy for Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma

Normally, mesothelioma is the most effective treated with surgery together with radiation and chemotherapy — an approach called multimodal therapy. Sarcomatoid mesothelioma, nevertheless, makes treatment very hard.

Surgery is tough since sarcomatoid tumors are more challenging to eliminate than tumors manufactured from additional cell types, plus they metastasize fast. Chemotherapy has been shown to be practically ineffective, as the sarcomatoid cells are immune. Radiation treatment depends on the capacity to isolate the cancer-affected region from healthy tissue, something which mesothelioma infrequently supplies.

This said, if a patient is diagnosed with sarcomatoid mesothelioma, palliative and supportive care remains available usually.

Researchers are focusing on new and experimental treatments which might end up being more successful later on. Immunotherapy eliminates some immune cells in the patient, and modifies them to assault the mesothelioma. In the same way, viruses have been altered to assault the mesothelioma that affects the tumor enzymes, inducing the mesothelioma to perish with gene therapy. These new treatments are still in the study period.

signs of asbestos

5 Signs Your House has Asbestos

Asbestos was once an important construction material for homes and buildings as it is cheap and durable. In Australia, hundreds of thousands of homes were constructed with asbestos containing materials (ACM) up until the 1980s. Asbestos wise reported that:

● A quarter of Australian homes is contaminated with asbestos cement in the 1960s.

● About 52% of all houses constructed in NSW used to have asbestos cement in 1954.

● Only 2 percent of homes in Victoria ARE free of ACM, in 1976.

signs of asbestos

Although the use of this material plummeted in 1980s, only on 31 December 2003 when Asbestos and all Asbestos containing materials were banned throughout Australia. However, time and again, remnants of asbestos contamination is discovered in a few homes.

As the season comes to an end, you may be already doing some last-minute spring cleaning and preparing your home in time for summer. Make this the perfect time to do visual survey around your home to check whether you have these 5 indicators of asbestos contamination.

5 Tell Tale Signs of Asbestos Materials in Your Home

1. If a house was built during or before 1980s, chances are it is contaminated with asbestos. Homes during the period used to contain asbestos in its floor tiles, walls, ceilings, insulation, and in pipe cement among others.

2. Most of flat corrugated roofing and bitumen roofing are contaminated with asbestos. These roofs are contaminated with white asbestos, the least dangerous of the three types, but still not short of causing health hazard.

3. Flooring tiles with 9 by 9 inches of of size, Vinyl tiles and vinyl sheet with paper or millboard are most likely contaminated with asbestos. The probability is higher if your home was built or renovated during or prior 1980s.

4. Due to asbestos’ insulation and fireproof property, grey or white asbestos is widely used as insulation for pipes, particularly the fittings. White asbestos tapes were also used on pipes as insulation.

5. Old ceilings can be made of asbestos cement sheet. Check for cover traps, light bases, and vent covers as all these can be contaminated with asbestos.

What to do if you have an asbestos contaminated home?

Do nothing if the material is intact or in good shape

If you suspect that your home is contaminated with asbestos, leave it alone. If the material is in good condition, without any sign of wear and tear, do not damage or disturb it. There are also cleaning mistakes that must be avoided to stay away from further problems and make proper use of your time, at the same time. As a rule, do not dismantle it lest fibres would come out in the air that could permeate your body as you breathe. Scrubbing or cleaning an asbestos cement, for instance, is a big cleaning mistake that you shouldn’t commit.

Remember that asbestos, especially the non-friable, is not hazardous when it is not exposed to air or when it is tightly sealed off and isolated. Only when it is damaged, sawed, drilled or sanded that it can release inhalable asbestos particles in the air.

Temporarily isolate non-friable Asbestos Containing Materials

As a temporary solution, you can seal off non-friable asbestos in floor tiles and wall with encapsulants. This airtight coating keeps asbestos fibres isolated so as not to diffuse in the air. It is a good choice for ACM that is not damaged, but can aggravate damaged asbestos containing materials.

Call for Professional Asbestos Removalist

signs of mesothelioma

How to Detect Mesothelioma Signs and Symptoms Immediately?

Mesothelioma also referred to as asbestos cancer is categorized into two major forms. The pleural form of cancer involves cancer cells in the lung or chest tissues. The peritoneal form of cancer entails cancer cells in the abdominal tissues. Aside from these types, there are other malignant forms that affect the heart tissues, which is the pericardial form. This category is considered to be the rarest of all cancer forms. Each type of cancer has its corresponding symptoms, considering the origin of the cancer cells.

signs of mesothelioma

Early Signs

The common symptoms of Mesothelioma normally appear after 20 or 30 thirty years of the asbestos exposure. In fact, not all experts can diagnose the disease in its early stages. Some symptoms are regarded to be as normal ailments such as a simple cough, fever, nausea, vomiting, and difficulty in swallowing. Early signs of this disease often times include breathing problems and digestive malfunctions. People with the condition tend to disregard these symptoms, considering them as simple sickness. The mis-diagnosis of such ailment could lead to sudden death since immediate treatment was not implemented.

Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma

Since this type of cancer occurs in the chest tissues, the symptoms of such disease are manifested in the same area. The common symptom is the shortness of, also known as dyspnea. Other signs include chest pain, back pain, and even unusual weight loss. Some patients who were diagnosed with such disease experienced pain under their rib cage. Other doctors diagnosed, further signs such as blood clotting and the appearance of tumors in those affected areas.

Symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

On the other hand, the symptoms of this cancer type are manifested throughout the abdominal area. The signs of peritoneal cancer include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and abdominal swelling. Patients who were later diagnosed with this disease found some lumps and tumors in their abdominal cavities. Blood clotting also appeared in some cases. Similar to the pleural Mesothelioma form of cancer, patients also experienced weight loss for unknown reasons.

Early Detection

Whether it’s pleural or peritoneal, this form of cancer is surely fatal. Many people have suffered from this ailment and lost their battles. Individuals who were significantly exposed to asbestos can still hope for early detection and treatment. The technological advancements can detect the symptoms as early as possible. Biopsy, thoracoscopy, laparotomy, and thoracotomy are just some of the technologies used today. These advancements can greatly help in the detection of Mesothelioma.

surviving mesothelioma

Prognosis of Surviving Mesothelioma Without Treatment

When Sallie M. was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma at the age of 87 in June 2013, her doctors advised against aggressive treatment.

They said the cancer was too progressed for surgery and that Sallie was too advanced in age to withstand the health effects of chemotherapy. They connected her with hospice right away, and she put her affairs in order.

Sallie took the news relatively well. She felt grateful for the good life she has lived, and peacefully accepted the prognosis. She had a talc pleurodesis to stop fluid from building around her lungs, and it offered great relief of her breathing difficulties.

surviving mesothelioma

Doctors expected Sallie’s health to quickly decline within months, but she shocked everyone as she continued to feel well. Sallie loved the hospice team, but after 22 months of hospice care it became clear that Sallie was stable. Hospice hit the road, and she’s been doing well while living in an active retirement community in southern California.

Sallie had a scan of her lungs done when she left hospice, just to see how things were looking. Only a few tumors were found around her lung. It seemed Sallie had a very slow-growing type of mesothelioma.

Without any anti-cancer treatment, she has outlived the typical one-year prognosis by more than a year.

Mesothelioma didn’t stop Sallie from enjoying her life. She managed the symptoms and took time to travel along the California coastline, staying beachside, appreciating the state’s landscape and pleasant weather.

“Thank you No. 1 for the talc pleurodesis, and No. 2 for not pushing treatment on me. I got to travel as a result,” Sallie says.

What Happens if Mesothelioma Is Left Untreated?

People newly diagnosed with mesothelioma often wonder what would happen if they turn down anti-cancer treatment.

What could happen varies depending upon the stage of the cancer and how quickly it grows. A fortunate few, like Sallie, end up with slow-growing cancer, but most cases of mesothelioma grow quickly. It’s also completely normal for a slow-growing cancer to suddenly grow and spread quickly.

Certain factors help people live longer with mesothelioma such as female gender, epithelial cell type, younger age and good overall health. Regardless of prognostic factors, survival is affected for most people who turn down treatment.

Survival is impacted

People diagnosed with the earliest stage of mesothelioma, known as stage Ia, live an average of two years without treatment.

Comparatively, patients who have aggressive surgery for stage I or II mesothelioma often live longer than three years.

Survival among people diagnosed in stage III or IV who forgo treatment can vary greatly depending upon several prognostic factors, including a person’s overall health, age, gender, tumor cell type and stage at diagnosis.

Most mesothelioma studies focus on how treatments can improve survival, so there is little research regarding survival in untreated patients.

However, an MD Anderson study did report survival for untreated cases in 2011. The study reviewed survival in 238 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed between 1977 and 2009. The average survival for untreated cases was 6.4 months. Treated cases lived an average of 11.3 months.

Survival rates are slowly improving with current treatment methods. A 2015 study of 380 mesothelioma cases diagnosed and treated between 1992 and 2012 reported median survival of 18 months for pleural mesothelioma and 75 months for peritoneal mesothelioma.

Growing tumors affect symptoms

Without treatment, pleural mesothelioma tumors may quickly spread from their origin in the lining of the lungs to the rest of the chest cavity.

Physiological changes caused by growing tumors will cause symptoms that affect how patients feel. As tumors grow and spread, symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and coughing often worsen.

Peritoneal mesothelioma also progresses quickly without treatment, and symptoms like abdominal pain and swelling and digestive dysfunction usually worsen.

As both types of mesothelioma progress, other symptoms may develop such as weight loss, fever, night sweats, fatigue, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness and irregular heartbeat. The cancer can also cause high platelet count, high calcium and low sodium levels.

Palliative Care Improves Quality of Life

Managing symptoms to keep patients comfortable, known as palliative care, becomes the No. 1 priority when a patient turns down anti-cancer treatments.

Beginning pain management and other palliative care therapies as soon as possible can help patients maintain their quality of life.

Some people are reluctant to take pain medicine because they have fears about potential side effects and becoming addicted. Palliative care specialists have extensive experience helping people manage pain with medication and know side effects can be controlled.

Addiction is rare. It’s more important to keep pain to a minimum so patients can enjoy a higher quality of life.

Opiate-based pain medicine like morphine and tramadol are effective at controlling cancer-related pain. Certain antidepressants help to reduce pain, while steroids can reduce pain caused by inflammation.

Over-the-counter pain medicine, including NSAIDs like ibuprofen and Aleve, are helpful for mild to moderate pain. However, NSAIDs can easily damage the stomach’s lining and cause ulcers if taken for too long or in combination with alcohol.

Other palliative care treatments enable patients to live fuller lives. Complementary therapies like occupational therapy help patients engage in activities, while physical therapy helps people feel better in their bodies.

Ask your doctor for a referral to a palliative care specialist if one isn’t available at your treatment center.

End-of-Life Matters

As the cancer progresses, the time will come when it’s appropriate to make decisions about end-of-life medical care and legal matters.

It’s important to speak with your doctor about a legal order to allow natural death, also called an advance directive. This order allows you to decide in advance which forms of life support you approve of and how long they can be used. Assigning a power of attorney for health care and financial affairs can ensure your wishes are carried out.

Getting in touch with an estate attorney is wise if you don’t have a will yet. This is especially important for mesothelioma patients who receive compensation through asbestos trust funds or mesothelioma lawsuits.

If you haven’t looked into the legal options available to people with mesothelioma, consider talking to a mesothelioma attorney. If you decide to file a personal injury claim, but your cancer progresses and you pass away before trial or settlement, your family can file a wrongful death lawsuit. Compiling a detailed work history is helpful if your family is considering filing a wrongful death suit after you die.

Some people who refuse cancer treatment may experience backlash from family and doctors. Certain family members may not understand the situation and may have difficulty accepting a patient’s choice to refuse treatment.

Some doctors may push aggressive treatment because they have a goal to provide patients with more time, while others encourage patients to join clinical trials. Despite pressures you may feel from family or physicians, ultimately, you don’t have to receive any treatment you don’t want.

One of the greatest services available to people near the end of life is hospice care. To receive the Medicare Hospice Benefit, a patient must have a prognosis of six months or less, but there isn’t a six-month limit to services. Services will continue as long as necessary when a doctor verifies the patient continues to meet eligibility.

Cases like Sallie’s are atypical when it comes to mesothelioma, but some people can live comfortably for years with mesothelioma without anti-cancer treatment. Palliative therapies like pain management, physical therapy and the talc pleurodesis that Sallie had, keep mesothelioma patients comfortable as they live with the disease.

While it may feel scary to face the unknown after turning down mesothelioma treatment, palliative care can maintain quality of life and resources like hospice care. A good support system also helps people to live well with mesothelioma.

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types of mesothelioma

What Are the Types of Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a rare kind of cancer that develops in the tissue covering most of your organs. There are four different types of this disease. What kind you have depends on where in your body it develops.

types of mesothelioma

Mesothelioma in the Lungs (Pleural Mesothelioma)

This is the most common form of the disease. It accounts for about 75% of all mesothelioma cases. There are about 2,500 to 3,000 cases of it every year in the United States.

Symptoms: You might feel pain in your chest or when you cough. You may have shortness of breath and unexplained weight loss. Lumps often will form under theskin on your chest.

Causes: Asbestos is the main culprit. These mineral fibers were once widely used to build houses and other products. That’s because the fibers are resistant to heat and fire. But doctors later learned that they can get stuck in yourlungs when you inhale them. This can cause inflammation and scarring. Over many years, this can lead to the development of mesothelioma in your

lungs.Your genes and other factors also influence your risk.

Diagnosis: Mesothelioma shares a lot of symptoms with other diseases, so diagnosing it is tricky. Your doctor might order X-rays of your chest, or do a CT scan to look for signs of asbestos exposure. He might also do a PET scan to find out where the cancer has spread. All of these imaging tests can help him see if something is wrong. If so, he’ll have to take a small lung tissue sample (biopsy) to know for sure if it’s mesothelioma.

Treatment: It’ll depend on how advanced your cancer is. Your doctor may perform more imaging tests to figure out what stage of the disease you’re in. There are four stages. The higher the number, the more the cancer has spread.

If it’s in the early stages, you might need surgery. It can sometimes cure the cancer. In other cases, it just helps reduce your symptoms. You might also need chemotherapy, or "chemo." This can be used alone or before surgery to help shrink your cancer or to keep it from spreading as fast. It can also sometimes be used after surgery to reduce the chance of the cancer coming back. Radiation therapy after surgery might help kill any cancer cells that are still in your body.

Most of the time, mesothelioma isn’t diagnosed until it’s advanced. If it’s too far along, doctors can’t operate. In that case, your doctor might suggest treatments to control your symptoms.

what causes mesothelioma

Do We Know What Causes Malignant Mesothelioma?

Researchers have found several factors that increase a person’s risk of mesothelioma, but it’s not yet clear exactly how all of these factors might cause this cancer.

Cancers, including mesotheliomas, occur when cells in the body suffer damage to their DNA. DNA is the chemical in each of our cells that makes up our genes– the instructions for how our cells function. We usually look like our parents because they are the source of our DNA. But DNA affects more than how we look. Some genes control when cells in the body grow, divide into new cells, and die at the right time. Changes in these genes may cause cells to grow out of control, which can lead to cancer.

Asbestos exposure is the main cause of pleural mesothelioma. When asbestos fibers are breathed in, they travel to the ends of small air passages and reach the pleura, where they can cause inflammation and scarring. This may damage cells’ DNA and cause changes that result in uncontrolled cell growth. If swallowed, these fibers can reach the abdominal lining, where they can have a role in causing peritoneal mesothelioma.

But most people exposed to asbestos, even in large amounts, do not get mesothelioma. Other factors, such as a person’s genes, may make them more likely to develop mesothelioma when exposed to asbestos. For example, researchers have found that some people who seem to be at high risk have changes in BAP1, a gene that normally helps keep cell growth under control. Other genes are probably important as well.

Radiation treatments for other cancers have been linked to mesothelioma in some studies. Radiation can damage the cells’ DNA, leading to out-of-control cell growth.

It is still not known if infection with the SV40 virus increases the risk of mesothelioma, or exactly how it might do so. In lab studies, researchers have found that the virus can affect certain genes that have been linked with cancer, but further research in this area is needed

what causes mesothelioma

What Are the Risk Factors for Malignant Mesothelioma?

A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be changed. Others, like a person’s age or family history, can’t be changed.
But having a known risk factor, or even several, does not mean that you will get the disease. And some people who get the disease may have few or no known risk factors.
Researchers have found some factors that increase a person’s risk of mesothelioma.
Asbestos
The main risk factor for pleural mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. In fact, most cases of pleural mesothelioma have been linked to asbestos exposure, usually from high levels of exposure in the workplace.
Asbestos is a group of minerals that occur naturally as bundles of tiny fibers. These fibers are found in soil and rocks in many parts of the world.
When asbestos fibers in the air are inhaled, they can get into the lungs. Fibers that stay in the lungs can travel to the ends of the small airways and enter the pleural lining of the lung and chest wall. These fibers can then injure the cells of the pleura, and eventually cause mesothelioma. Asbestos fibers can also damage cells of the lung and result in asbestosis (scar tissue in the lung) and/or lung cancer.
Peritoneal mesothelioma, which forms in the abdomen, can result from coughing up and swallowing inhaled asbestos fibers.
Many people are exposed to very low levels of naturally occurring asbestos in outdoor air in dust that comes from rocks and soil containing asbestos. This is more likely to happen in areas where rocks have higher asbestos content. In some areas, asbestos can be found in the water supply as well as in the air.
In the past, asbestos was used in many products because of its heat and fire-resistant properties. The link between asbestos and mesothelioma is now well known, so its use in the United States has gone down dramatically. Most use stopped several decades ago, but it is still used in some products.
Still, millions of Americans may already have been exposed to asbestos. People at risk for asbestos exposure in the workplace include some miners, factory workers, insulation manufacturers and installers, railroad and automotive workers, ship builders, gas mask manufacturers, plumbers, and construction workers. Family members of people exposed to asbestos at work can also be exposed because the workers can carry home asbestos fibers on their clothes.
Asbestos was also used to insulate many older homes, as well as commercial and public buildings around the country, including some schools. Because these particles are contained within the building materials, they are not likely to be found in the air in large numbers. The risk of exposure is likely to be very low unless the particles somehow escape into the air, such as when building materials begin to decompose over time, or during remodeling or removal.
The risk of developing mesothelioma is loosely related to how much asbestos a person is exposed to and how long this lasts. People exposed at an early age, for a long time, and at higher levels are more likely to develop this cancer. Still, most people exposed to asbestos, even in large amounts, do not get mesothelioma. Other factors, such as a person’s genes, may make them more likely to develop mesothelioma when exposed to asbestos.
Mesotheliomas related to asbestos exposure take a long time to develop. The time between first exposure to asbestos and diagnosis of mesothelioma is usually between 20 and 50 years. Unfortunately, the risk of mesothelioma does not go down over time after the exposure to asbestos stops. The risk appears to be lifelong.
For more detailed information on asbestos, see Asbestos and Cancer Risk.
Zeolites
Zeolites are minerals chemically related to asbestos. An example is erionite, which is common in the rocks and soil in parts of Turkey. High mesothelioma rates in these areas are believed to be caused by exposure to this mineral.
Radiation
There have been a few published reports of mesotheliomas that developed after people were exposed to high doses of radiation to the chest or abdomen as treatment for another cancer. Although the risk of mesothelioma is higher in patients who have been treated with radiation, this cancer is still rare in these patients.
There have also been reports linking mesothelioma to injections of thorium dioxide (Thorotrast). This radioactive material was used by doctors for certain x-ray tests until the 1950s. Thorotrast was found to cause cancers, so it has not been used for many decades.

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