Mesothelioma is a very rare malignancy in the general population, but found quite commonly in asbestos-exposed individuals. In fact, asbestos is the only known confirmed cause of mesothelioma in the United States. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung, known as the pleura, (pleural mesothelioma) or the lining of the abdominal cavity, known as the peritoneum (peritoneal mesothelioma).

Mesothelioma is a very serious condition which usually first develops many years after a person was first exposed to asbestos. The time it takes for mesothelioma to develop following first exposure to asbestos, known as the latency period, can be from ten to fifty years. People exposed to asbestos, including people who worked at a summer job involving intensive asbestos exposure while they were in their teens or in school, may be shocked to learn many years later that the mesothelioma they developed came from a fleeting, short term exposure to asbestos. That is why an extensive occupational and asbestos exposure history is explored with each potential client suffering with mesothelioma to discover the source of their disease.


The first symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include one or more of the following: shortness of breath, chest or pleural pain (such as experienced with pleuritis), cough, weakness and a loss of weight or appetite. Often, pleural mesothelioma is accompanied by the accumulation of pleural fluid which can cause significant discomfort and chest pain. That fluid can be removed and analyzed by a physician for malignant cells.

Peritoneal mesothelioma may cause loss of weight or appetite as well as severe cramps or diarrhea.

Diagnosis
Mesothelioma can be detected and diagnosed by a variety of techniques including CAT Scan and/or chest x-ray, cytology (which is examination of fluid removed from the pleural space) or pathology (which is examination of tissue removed by surgery). The most effective and certain way to diagnose mesothelioma is through a biopsy of pleural tissue. Not surprisingly, the more tissue that can be examined, the more definite the diagnosis can be. A transbronchial biopsy, taken through a tube inserted down the throat, will not require surgery but will also result in a very small tissue sample which may or may not be able to confirm a diagnosis. A more invasive surgical procedure, while less physically desirable, will provide more tissue and greater chance for confirming the diagnosis.

Three types of mesothelioma treatment are:

• Surgery (taking out the cancer)
• Radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells)
• Chemotherapy (using drugs to fight the cancer)

Surgery is a common treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, a lung also may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).
 

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. In mesothelioma, chemotherapy may be put directly into the chest (intrapleural chemotherapy).

Intraoperative photodynamic therapy is a new type of treatment that uses special drugs and light to kill cancer cells during surgery. A drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive to light is injected into a vein several days before surgery. During surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, a special light is used to shine on the pleura. This treatment is being studied for early stages of mesothelioma in the chest.