Malignant Mesothelioma Info - Asbestos Health Hazards

Malignant Mesothelioma Info

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Malignant mesothelioma is a somewhat rare type of cancer that affects the mesothelial tissue lining of three of the body's largest cavities: the pleura (lung cavity), the peritoneum (abdominal cavity) and the pericardium (heart sac).

Mesothelial tissue cells makeup the mesothelium, a membrane that lines and protects certain internal organs. The mesothelium affords internal organs the protection they need, while secreting serous fluid that allows moving organs to expand and contract without resulting in any friction. This is important for organ movement during normal bodily functions, such as the beating of the heart and expansion and contraction of the lungs during breathing.

Malignant mesothelioma is a latent disease that can take anywhere from 30 to 40 years to fully develop (during which it is often asymptomatic). Once malignant mesothelioma is diagnosed, it has usually reached an advanced stage, limiting treatment options and survival time. The average post-diagnosis survival time for malignant mesothelioma sufferers is between one and two years.

Mesothelioma cases are categorized in accordance with the section of mesothelium that is affected:

Benign fibrous mesothelioma was once viewed to be a rare tumor type that was closely associated with pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is by nature malignant and can never exist in a benign form; therefore, 'benign fibrous mesothelioma' is an inaccurate label. A more accurate label would be a benign fibrous tumor caused by asbestos exposure. This fibrous tumor is more similar to fibrosis (formation of fibrous scar tissue) than it is to pleural mesothelioma.

Asbestos Health Hazards

Asbestos is the name given to a group of six fibrous minerals of the hydrous magnesium silicate variety: chrysotile, amosite, tremolite, actinolite, anthophyllite and crocidolite. A naturally occurring carcinogen, asbestos was one of the first hazardous airborne contaminants to be regulated under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (1970). Asbestos has a causative link with a variety of diseases, some of which include:

Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious type of asbestos-related disease because it is both fatal and incurable. Asbestos lung cancer is also fatal; however, there has been a great deal more success in treating cases of asbestos lung cancer versus malignant mesothelioma.

Asbestos lung cancer is occasionally mistaken for pleural mesothelioma because both are types of cancer affecting similar sections of the body. Asbestos lung cancer is a malignancy of the parenchymal tissue of lung, whereas pleural mesothelioma is a malignancy of the tissue lining the lung cavity.

Malignant Mesothelioma Treatments

Malignant mesothelioma treatments are broken down into two categories: traditional treatments and new treatments. Traditional mesothelioma treatment options are the same as those used to combat other types of cancers and include:

Traditional mesothelioma treatments are often used in combination with one-another to best target cancer cells. For example, chemotherapy is often used prior to surgery (or postoperatively) to slow the spread of cancer cells (or kill remaining cells).

Newer mesothelioma treatment options include:

Most research involving new mesothelioma treatments revolves around the development and implementation of new chemotherapy drugs like Veglin and Alimta. Advances in science and medicine improve the ability of chemical treatments to target cancer-causing cells and render them inactive. Unfortunately, malignant mesothelioma remains an incurable malady as both traditional and new methods of treatment have thus far been unable to successfully combat the disease.

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