Asbestos exposure:

Asbestos exposure is the primary risk factor for mesothelioma. Asbestos is a group of minerals once used in industrial and construction materials, but is now produced in small quantities. Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, (The occupations most associated with mesothelioma are shipyard workers, electricians, plumbers, construction industry workers, pipefitters, boilermakers, and anyone subject to heavy exposure to dangerous asbestos and airborne asbestos fibers) or they have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways.

An abundance of cases have also demonstrated that mesothelioma can develop among people who lived in communities where asbestos factories or mines were located. In some instances, entire towns have been adversely affected by the presence of asbestos fibers in the air.

Asbestos is also fire-retardant and was used in many fire-protective materials. Unfortunately, because of its fibrous nature (and because of the brittle nature of these fibres) asbestos particles are readily released into the air (most especially during the manufacturing process) and these are readily inhaled or swallowed. Being needle-like these can stick into and irritate the pleural membranes of the lungs and the peritoneum of the abdomen. Continuous irritation can lead to inflammation and ultimately to cancer.
In addition to mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos increases the risk of lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidney.

Mesothelioma is an incurable asbestos cancer. This short film was produced to raise awareness of the issues around mesothelioma. It includes interviews with people who have the disease. It was produced for Action Mesothelioma day on belhalf of Forum of Asbestos Victim Support Groups. For more information visit www.ActionMeso.info

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Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma symptoms often resemble less-serious conditions, which can make diagnosis difficult. Below is a list of several common symptoms mesothelioma patients may experience.

The Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma includes:

Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma may be sometimes confused with symptoms of other common diseases such as pneumonia, extreme cough, flu or cold.

• A persistent cough
• Pain in the lower back or the side of the chest
• Pleural effusion
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• A hoarse or husky voice
• Fatigue
• lumps under the skin on the chest
• Losing more than 10% of your weight when not dieting
• Sweating and fevers
• Difficulty swallowing
• Some people have changes in the shape of their fingers and nails called finger clubbing, but this is not common.

The symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma:

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may be sometimes confused with symptoms of other common diseases such as gall bladder problems, hernia or pelvic mass.

• Pain in the abdomen (tummy)
• Swelling in the abdomen
• Feeling or being sick
• Poor appetite
• Losing more than 10% of your weight when not
• Diarrhoea or constipation
• bowel obstruction
• Anemia
• Distension (spreading & stretching in all directions) of abdomen
• Fluid in abdomen
• nausea

The symptoms of Pericardial Mesothelioma:

Symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma may be sometimes confused with symptoms of other common diseases, thus it is very difficult to diagnose mesothelioma.

• Heart palpitations
• irregular heartbeat
• chest pain
• difficulty breathing
• Fever
• Fatigue
• night sweats

The symptoms of Testicular mesothelioma:

There are no defined symptoms for testicular mesothelioma.

• Painful or painless testicular lumps
• Swelling of scrotum

Mesothelioma cancer cell types:

Mesothelioma cells are divided into three main categories: epithelioid, sarcomatoid cells, and a mix of the two types called biphasic mesothelioma.

Epithelioid Mesothelioma

Epithelioid mesothelioma cells are the most common, found in at least half of all cases of malignant mesothelioma. It is relatively easiest to treat of all types of mesothelioma. Accounting for approximately 50% to 70% of all mesothelioma cancer cells, epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common type of histological category. Because it is the least aggressive of the cell types, it generally responds the best to treatment, and offers the best prognosis.

These cells are relatively uniform in shape and have a tubular pattern with a distinct cell nucleus when observed under microscope. The individual cells are shaped like cubes or multi-sided boxes. Because of the similarity between adenocarcinoma and mesothelioma cancer cells, they are often confused and mesothelioma can be misdiagnosed. Inspection of the cancer cells under high-powered microscopes and identification of unique characteristics of the chemical properties of the cells can help make the proper diagnosis.

Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma

The second type of mesothelioma is sarcomatoid mesothelioma. Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is the most serious form of the disease, as it rarely responds to any treatment whatsoever. Cells of sarcomatoid mesothelioma are less common, occurring only in 20 to 40% of all cases.

Sarcomatoid cells may be found in the type of malignant mesothelioma cells known as biphasic cells– a combination of sarcomatoid and epithelioid cells. Because of the similarity of appearance, the sarcomatoid cancer cells can also easily be confused with the more typical sarcoma cancer cells.

Microscopic analysis normally shows a spindle cell or storiform structure with enlongated nuclei not as apparent as in the epithelial type. Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is so dangerous because it attacks and generally arises from support tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, and fat. Death usually occurs within six months of diagnosis of sarcomatoid mesothelioma.

Biphasic or mixed cell type Mesothelioma

Biphasic mesothelioma is not an independent type of mesothelioma. Biphasic mesothelioma is not a condition unto itself, as the name implies, is a combination of elements of both the epithelial and sarcomatoid subtypes, with components of each in the same tumor, or found in specific groupings throughout the tumor.

Approximately 20% to 40% of the mesothelioma cancer cells fall into the biphasic category. However, recent studies have suggested that biphasic mesothelioma accounts for 46% to 63% of all mesothelioma cancer cells.

Biphasic mesothelioma is different from epithelioid and sarcomatoid mesothelioma in that it does not have a unique cellular pattern. A section of tissue examined by a histopathologist may only contain epithelioid cancer cells, leading to a misdiagnosis of epithelioid mesothelioma. Multiple biopsies can help to avoid such mistakes and help lead to a correct diagnosis of biphasic mesothelioma.

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of malignant mesothelioma and affects the section of the mesothelium called the pleura. This is where the cancer affects the lungs and the protective lining and cavity of the lungs. The disease can grow quickly and enlarge the pleural space, causing it to fill with fluid. This fluid leads to the discomfort or pain associated with first detection of the disease. It is thought that pleural mesothelioma is caused by the inhaling of fibrous materials, including asbestos. These fibers lodge in the pleura and, over time, cause damage to the tissue layer and cancer erupts.

As a result, pleural mesothelioma is often confused with other types of diseases, such as lung cancer and viral pneumonia. Lung cancer can be caused by asbestos (asbestos lung cancer), though it differs from pleural mesothelioma in that it is a malignancy of the lung tissue itself, as opposed to pleural mesothelioma which is a malignancy of the tissue casing of the lungs. Viral pneumonia shares certain symptomatic similarities with pleural mesothelioma and is often misdiagnosed as such.

You can get all the types of Mesothelioma details on this blog.

Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. The incidence rate is approximately one per 1,000,000. The highest incidence is found in Britain, Australia and Belgium: 30 per 1,000,000 per year. For comparison, populations with high levels of smoking can have a lung cancer incidence of over 1,000 per 1,000,000. Incidence of malignant mesothelioma currently ranges from about 7 to 40 per 1,000,000 in industrialized Western nations, depending on the amount of asbestos exposure of the populations during the past several decades. It has been estimated that incidence may have peaked at 15 per 1,000,000 in the United States in 2004.

Incidence is expected to continue increasing in other parts of the world. This cancer occurs about four times more frequently in men than in women and all forms of mesothelioma, except for benign mesothelioma, are invariably fatal. Approximately one fifth to one third of all mesotheliomas are peritoneal.

Between 1940 and 1979, approximately 27.5 million people were occupationally exposed to asbestos in the United States. Between 1973 and 1984, there has been a threefold increase in the diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma in Caucasian males. From 1980 to the late 1990s, the death rate from mesothelioma in the USA increased from 2,000 per year to 3,000, with men four times more likely to acquire it than women. These rates may not be accurate, since it is possible that many cases of mesothelioma are misdiagnosed as adenocarcinoma of the lung, which is difficult to differentiate from mesothelioma.