Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that most frequently arises from the cells lining the sacs of the chest (the pleura) or the abdomen (the peritoneum). Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form, often detected with symptoms in the chest area. Peritoneal mesothelioma is much less common and can effect the organs in the abdomen. Its symptoms are related to this area of the body such as, abdominal swelling, nausea, vomiting, and bowel obstruction. The rarest form of mesothelioma is pericardial mesothelioma, which involves the sac surrounding the heart. Most people complain about shortness of breath and chest pain but Surprisingly, this pain is often not pleuritic; that is, it does not get worse with deep breathing. This is surprising in that the pleura is often involved in this disease, and most other diseases involving the pleura are often associated with pleuritic pain. Patients may also be asymptomatic, with the disease discovered by physical exam or an abnormal chest X-ray.
People with malignant mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they have at one time or another breathed in asbestos. Most have been exposed to asbestos in a household environment, often without knowing it. Interestingly, the number of new cases of mesothelioma has been relatively stable since 1983, the same time that the restrictions on asbestos were instituted by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Mesothelioma is usually diagnosed by pathological examination from a biopsy. Tissue is removed, placed under the microscope, and a pathologist makes a definitive diagnosis and issues a pathology report. This is the end of a process that usually begins with symptoms that send most people to the doctor: a fluid buildup around the lungs (pleural effusions), shortness of breath, pain in the chest, or pain or swelling in the abdomen. The doctor will usually order an X-ray or CT scan of the chest or abdomen.
Like most cancers, the prognosis for this disease often depends on how early it is diagnosed and how aggressively it is treated. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is often found at a stage in which a cure is unobtainable. New approaches to treat malignant mesothelioma are currently being tested. They often combine traditional treatments or include something entirely new. They include "L-NDDP" which is designed to overcome the toxicity and drug resistance currently limiting the usefulness of platinum drugs like Cisplatin. Endostatin has been shown to work with Angiostatin in destroying a tumors' ability to grow blood vessels without harming normal cells. Lovastatin is a cholesterol drug shown in a recent study to potentially inhibit mesothelioma cancer cell growth. Photodynamic therapy kills cancer cells using the energy of light and immunotherapy treats cancer by helping the immune system fight the disease. Today research is being conducted at various cancer centers all over the United States in hopes to somehow reverse the effects of this horrible disease.
