|
There are 2 main types of mesothelioma:
Pleural mesothelioma
The pleural type grows in the tissues covering the lungs. Pleural mesothelioma is much more common than peritoneal mesothelioma.
Between 7 and 8 out of 10 (70-80%) cases of mesothelioma are pleural mesothelioma.
Pleural mesothelioma spreads within the chest cavity, sometimes involving the lung. Metastases can occur in any organ, including the brain, and are much more common than previously thought.
The onset of mesothelioma is usually very slow, the most common presenting symptom is persistent pain localized in the chest. Sometimes the pain is accompanied by severe difficulty breathing, due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space known as pleural effusion. Cough, weight loss and fever are not uncommon. The most valuable single test to show the extent of the disease is a computed chest tomograph (CT-scan).
There are currently no serum markers available for the diagnosis of mesothelioma. The detection of elevated serum levels of hyaluronic acid may be useful in differentiating mesotheliomas from other tumors, or to follow the effect of treatment.
The median survival is about 17 months from the beginning of symptoms. The 3-year survival is 10% the 5-year survival is approximately 5% ( if 100 patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma at a specific point in time, that means that 10 patients will still be alive at the end of 3 years and 5 patients will only be alive at the end of 5 years).
Peritoneal mesothelioma
Mesothelioma of the tissues lining the abdominal cavity in known as peritoneal mesothelioma. It is much less common than pleural mesothelioma. Between 1 and 2 out of every 10 cases (10 - 20%) cases of mesothelioma are peritoneal mesothelioma
Peritoneal mesothelioma is unusual in that it may show a wide spectrum of biological aggressiveness. The cystic variant of mesothelioma may cause recurrent episodes of severe lower abdominal pain but usually do not result in the death of the patient. In contrast, the most aggressive mesothelioma variants may show metastases from the peritoneal surface to mesenteric lymph nodes at the time of initial surgery.
Peritoneal mesothelioma involves the abdominal cavity, infiltrating the liver, spleen or the bowel. As with pleural mesothelioma pain is the most common presenting complaint. In addition, due to fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity (ascites), the abdomen appears enlarged. The patients experience nausea, vomiting, swelling of their feet, fever and difficulty in moving their bowels.
The prognosis is poorer than for pleural mesothelioma with a median survival time of about 10 months from the onset of symptoms
Mesothelioma is also grouped according to how the cells look under a microscope. When mesothelioma is grouped this way, there are 3 types
· Epitheloid
· Sarcomatoid or fibrous
· Mixed type (also called Biphasic type)
Between 5 and 7 out of 10 cases (50-70%) of mesothelioma diagnosed are the epitheloid type.
Between 7 and 20 out of every 100 cases (7 - 20%) of mesothelioma diagnosed are sarcomatoid type.
Between 20 and 35 out of every 100 cases (20 - 35%) of mesothelioma diagnosed are mixed and have both epitheloid and sarcomatoid cells.
These types of mesothelioma cells can further divide into other types of cancerous cells called
· Clear cell
· Small cell
· Acinar cell
· Tubopapillary cell
With so many different types of cells capable of developing into mesothelioma, it makes it very difficult to diagnose this disease.
Related to Mesothelioma sites:
|
