Pleural Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer in which cancer cells develop in the sac lining the chest, the lining of the abdominal cavity or the lining around the heart. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is cancer which is found in the lining of the chest.

When pleural mesothelioma cancer spreads, the cells of the mesothelium become abnormal. These malignant cells begin to divide and spread without order and can begin to affect other organs and tissues in the immediate area. This often leads to complications and damage to the surrounding organs.

The National Institute of Cancer cites working with asbestos as the overwhelming risk factor for pleural mesothelioma. While almost 80 percent of those that have mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos, there are still reported cases where there is no known exposure. Smoking alone has not been shown to increase the risk of mesothelioma but smoking in conjunction with asbestos exposure does increase risk. The heavier the exposure to asbestos, and the longer the duration of exposure, the greater the chance of pleural mesothelioma, although not everyone exposed is afflicted with the cancer who is exposed to asbestos.

Mesothelioma research shows that when asbestos particles are set free and inhaled, however, exposed individuals are at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease. Once these fibers work their way into body tissues (especially the lungs), they will stay there permanently. The risk of developing asbestos-related diseases, including pleural mesothelioma, varies with the type of industry in which the exposure occurred and with the extent of the exposure. In addition, different types of asbestos fibers may be associated with different health risks.

Pleural mesothelioma has a very poor record of treatment and a brief survival time. Here are some basic statistics on surviving pleural mesothelioma:

Mean survival time from initial presentation of the disease to death was 11.4 months for the pleural mesothelioma patients. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a very lethal disease and little is known about prognostic factors. The prognostic significance of age, stage of disease, gender and histological subtype was studied in 167 new cases of cytologically (15%) or histologically (85%) proven malignant pleural mesothelioma in the Rotterdam area, during the period 1987-1989. Median survival of all patients was 242 days. Univariate analysis identified age, stage and histopathological subtype as significant prognostic factors, which was confirmed in multivariate analysis. Median survival rates for patients < 65, 65-74 and > or = 75 yrs were 359, 242 and 131 days, respectively. Patients with Stage I disease had a median survival of 359 days compared to 147 and 112 days, respectively, for patients with Stage II and the combination of Stages III and IV. Mixed histopathological subtype (190 days) was less favorable than sarcomatous (207 days) and epithelial (252 days) subtypes. Using a Cox proportional hazard model in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, age, histological subtype and stage were identified as independent prognostic factors. These prognostic factors should be taken into account when starting or evaluating treatment studies.

While pleural mesothelioma treatment techniques and practices continue to evolve, this remains a disease that is uniformly fatal and unquestionably associated with exposure to asbestos.

For more information on Pleural Mesothelioma, please visit PET Imaging of Pleural Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Center Beginning a New Clinical Trial for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, ODP: Pleural Mesothelioma or Yahoo! Pleural Mesothelioma.

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