What is Mesothelioma?

The Mesothelioma Family Resource Center is dedicated to providing information on mesothelioma, including the latest mesothelioma treatment options and legal precedents. It is our strongest desire to equip you with knowledge about this cancer and your options.

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a rare form of asbestos cancer that develops in the mesothelial cells. These cells form tissue that surround or line the lungs, heart, and stomach. The mesothelial cells protect these organs by producing a lubricating fluid that allows them to move smoothly.
Asbestos is the overwhelming cause of mesothelioma in the United States. Typically the asbestos exposure occurred in an occupation or work environment over a prolonged period of time. However, it is also well-established that bystander (working near others using asbestos products) and household exposures (exposure from family members and their work clothes in the home) are known causes of mesothelioma. There is no known safe level of exposure to asbestos.

Types of Mesothelioma

There are three types of mesothelioma:  Pleural Mesothelioma, Peritoneal Mesothelioma, and Pericardial Mesothelioma.

• Pleural Mesothelioma accounts for 75% of all diagnoses.
• Peritoneal Mesothelioma accounts for less than 20% of all mesothelioma cases.
• Pericardial Mesothelioma is the most rare and accounts for very few cases.

Risk Factors

A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease. While you may have one or many of the risk factors associated with a disease, such as mesothelioma, that does not mean that you will get the disease.

The main risk factor for mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. Prolonged exposure to asbestos through a job, or during a building demolition or remodel increases your chances. Other recognized, but very rare, known causes include exposure to zeolites (minerals primarily located in Turkey), therapeutic thoratrast radiation, and chronic inflammation of the pleura. However, there have been very few reported cases of mesothelioma from causes other than asbestos.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma symptoms include but are definitely not limited to:

• shortness of breath
• chronic cough,
• chest pain
• fatigue

Often mesothelioma is misdiagnosed because the symptoms are common to other ailments, such as colds and flu.

Stages of Mesothelioma

Stages of mesothelioma were established by the Mesothelioma Interest Group and adopted by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), and are similar to the staging system used by most other cancers.   At this time, the staging system is only applied to mesothelioma around the lung, and uses Roman numerals from I to IV (1 to 4) to describe the severity of the cancer.

Key Statistics

Each year, between 2,000 and 4,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma. This cancer has a very long latency stage, and most often shows up late in life and primarily in men. Unfortunately, mortality is very quick after diagnosis, typically because mesothelioma is often far advanced by the time a diagnosis is made.

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma, more precisely malignant mesothelioma, is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos.
Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the heart, the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos and glass particles, or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways. It has also been suggested that washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos or glass can put a person at risk for developing mesothelioma.Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking, but smoking greatly increases the risk of other asbestos-induced cancers. Those who have been exposed to asbestos often utilize attorneys to collect damages for asbestos-related disease, including mesothelioma. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma (see asbestos and the law).
The symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. A thoracoscopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. It allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lung. Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for the early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing.