Pericardial Mesothelioma: The Treatment Method

There are a number of methods for medically treating pericardial mesothelioma. Some even resemble treatments for other ailments of the body. Radiation and chemotherapy are the most widely used and effective forms of treatment for this type of mesothelioma.

Radiation is the number one used method for this type of rare cancer because it has proved to be most effective in many patients. Both treatments, however, run the risk of damaging healthy cells as well as cancerous cells, so it is best to monitor both of these procedures. Some doctors choose to use surgery in order to remove the cancerous cells in order to create more comfort for the patient. This is not a "cure" or 100% removal of cancerous cells and there could still be contaminated areas left untreated. The retained fluid in the pericardial cavity can cause inflammation to the tissue around the heart and great discomfort to the patient.

Unfortunately for most people who are diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma, by the time symptoms of the disease appear, the cancer has progressed to a stage where conventional treatments are largely ineffective for anything other than providing temporary relief of symptoms. The difficulty of diagnosing pericardial mesothelioma at an early stage means that the long-term prognosis for most people with the disease is very poor. The average patient survives just six months post-diagnosis.

Most people diagnosed with this form of mesothelioma are not good candidates for cancer surgery. However, there are rare cases where the cancer is diagnosed early, and surgery can be carried out to remove small, localized pericardial tumors. This type of surgery carries great risk, simply due to the proximity of the heart.

Pericardial Mesothelioma: The Symptoms

Pericardial mesothelioma is a relatively rare form of cancer. For this reason, it has been difficult for mesothelioma specialists to develop a set of recognizable symptoms that can be used to help diagnose the disease. An additional problem is that the symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma resemble symptoms of other heart conditions, and this makes the cancer relatively difficult to diagnose quickly. A pericardial mesothelioma diagnosis may require a variety of tests to confirm the presence of cancer.

The symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma, as with other types of mesothelioma, can take decades to manifest. If a person worked with asbestos twenty or thirty years ago and shows no symptoms, that does not mean that they have the all clear. The symptoms typically take around twenty or thirty years to manifest anyway, sometimes even longer.

There are several main symptoms to look out for with pericardial mesothelioma. These include:

1) persistent coughing
2) shortness of breath
3) chest pain
4) palpitations

Anyone that has worked with asbestos and experiences any or all of these symptoms should seek medical advice immediately.

Pericardial Mesothelioma: An Overview

Pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest form of this asbestos-related cancer. This form of cancer affects the lining that surrounds the heart, and is associated with long term exposure to asbestos fibres.

Pericardial mesothelioma is also known as mesothelioma of the pericardium or cancer of the sac that holds the heart. Patients who develop excessive fluid around the heart, called an effusion, may have a sample of the fluid taken to diagnose pericardial mesothelioma. Fluid might also be drained to relieve symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma. The procedure for drawing out this fluid is called “pericardiocentesis.”

Pericardial mesothelioma can take several decades to develop from the time of exposure, with the average latency period being between twenty and forty years. This means that those people who may have contracted this form of cancer while working with asbestos in the 1970s, may not even be aware that they have the cancer, as symptoms may not yet have developed.

Pericardial mesothelioma is where the lining that surrounds the heart and provides protection and lubrication is attacked by cancer cells. There are a number of symptoms associated with pericardial mesothelioma, including persistent coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and palpitations. These are symptoms that you should look out for if you have worked with asbestos in the past, and should you experience any of these symptoms, it is important to seek medical assistance as early as possible.

Pericardial mesothelioma develops in the pericardium, a membrane made up of mesothelial cells that surrounds the heart and provides protection and support to this organ. The membrane is composed of two different layers - an outer layer called the parietal layer (called the heart sac or theca cordis), and an inner layer known as the visceral layer (called the epicardium). The parietal layer is part of a larger membrane that lines the entire chest cavity, while the visceral layer is the pericardial membrane that lines the heart.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treatments

In recent years, multimodality treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma has become more common for a select patient population, since surgery alone and/or intraperitoneal chemotherapy alone have proven to be similarly ineffective. Cytoreductive (debulking) surgery involves the removal of all or nearly all visible tumor, and, depending on the physician’s choice, may be combined with Intra-Peritoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (IPHC), intraperitoneal chemotherapy and/or radiation. Since it is not always possible to remove all tumors, the prognosis for long-term survival may be based on the completeness of cytoreduction as established by the following criteria: (1) Complete Cytoreduction; and (2) Imcomplete cytoreduction.

Due to a lack of symptoms early in the natural history of peritoneal mesothelioma, a large majority of patients are first diagnosed with a large volume of disease diffusely spread throughout the abdomen and pelvis. The disease accumulates in largest volume at sites of peritoneal fluid reabsorption and at dependent sites by gravity. The small bowel surfaces and mesenteries are not spared of mesothelioma implants as in the mucinous appendiceal neoplasms.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Causes And Sypmtoms

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare disease. Because of the frequent dissemination of pleural mesothelioma to the peritoneal cavity, one must rule out spread from a primary pleural malignancy as the cause of peritoneal disease.

The widespread progression of malignant cells on peritoneal surfaces results in copious fluid production. The fluid production can be attributed to the retention of a functional property of normal mesothelial cells. In these patients the peritoneal space becomes a free conduit for mesothelioma cells to migrate from place to place. In the production of ascites fluid, the cancer cells provide themselves with a carrier solution to disseminate throughout the abdominal and pelvic spaces.

Clinical symptoms at the time of presentation may include abdominal pain, abdominal mass, increased abdominal girth, distention of the abdomen, ascites (fluid in the abdomen), fever, weight loss, fatigue, anemia and digestive disturbances. Some patients complain of more non-specific symptoms for a number of months prior to a confirmed diagnosis. In a percentage of cases, peritoneal mesothelioma is found incidentally when the patient has sought help for another health problem such as gallbladder, hernia or pelvic mass.

Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma (mesothelioma of the lining of the lung, known as the pleura) may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1) shortness of breath (dyspnea) - hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, and/or coughing up of blood.

2) pleural effusion - a build up of too much fluid between the pleura (linings of the lungs and chest); a pleural effusion may cause chest pain and difficulty breathing (dyspnea), however, many cause no symptoms and are first discovered during the physical examination or seen on a chest x-ray.

3) pain in the chest - may sometimes be felt in upper abdomen, shoulder, or arm.

Introduction to Peritoneal Mesothelioma (Abdominal Mesothelioma)

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare aggressive tumor of the peritoneum, regarded as a universally fatal disease. It is poorly described and the knowledge of its natural history is very limited. Occupational and environmental asbestos exposure still remains a public health problem around the world. The incidence has increased in the past 2 decades. Only 20% to 33% of all mesotheliomas arise from the peritoneum itself; the pleura is the most common site of origin.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer affecting the abdominal lining, or peritoneum (paira-tin-e-um), which is why is is sometimes referred to as abdominal mesothelioma. This membrane supports and covers the organs of the abdomen.

The peritoneum is made of two parts, the visceral and parietal peritoneum. The visceral peritoneum covers the internal organs and makes up most of the outer layer of the intestinal tract. Covering the abdominal cavity is the parietal peritoneum.

Cells in these linings secrete a fluid which allows organs to move against one another. For instance, as the intestines move food through the body. The cells of the mesothelium are designed to create fluid, but the cancer causes them to overproduce, creating a build up of excess fluid in the abdominal cavity.

Pleural Mesothelioma - Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatments

Thickening of pleural membrane layers and the resulting build-up of fluid (called pleural effusion) begins to put pressure on the lungs and the respiratory system in general, preventing normal breathing. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are largely caused by these developments, and may include the following:

* Persistent dry or raspy cough
* Coughing up blood
* Difficulty in swallowing
* Shortness of breath that occurs even when at rest
* Persistent pain in the chest or rib area, or painful breathing
* Development of lumps under the skin on the chest
* Night sweats or fever
* Unexplained weight loss
* Fatigue

As with other types of mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose. There are two reasons for this. First, the long latency period of the disease means that cancer develops long before the first symptoms are noted. Second, the symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are very non-specific. In the early stages, pleural mesothelioma symptoms are often mistaken for those of less threatening diseases such as influenza and pneumonia.

Pleural mesothelioma diagnosis is made partly on the basis of symptoms, but because symptoms are non-specific, additional diagnostic tests are needed to confirm the presence of cancer. Following a medical history review and physical examination, patients must typically undergo imaging tests to confirm the location of cancer, and fluid and tissue tests to confirm the type of cancer involved.

In general, pleural mesothelioma patients have three options: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Typically, patients will receive a combination of two or more of these types of treatment.

Early pleural mesothelioma diagnosis can improve a patient's prognosis considerably, and such patients have more extensive treatment options. If the disease is diagnosed early enough, surgery to remove localized tumors, followed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancer cells can be an effective treatment. Curative surgery candidates must be in a good general state of health, and their cancer must not have spread beyond localized sections of the lungs.