Malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon, but no longer rare, cancer that is difficult to diagnose and poorly responsive to therapy. Malignant mesothelioma is the most severe of all asbestos-related diseases.
A layer of specialized cells called mesothelial cells lines the chest cavity, abdominal cavity, and the cavity around the heart. These cells likewise cover the outer surface of most internal organs. The tissue formed by these cells is called mesothelium.
The mesothelium helps protect the organs by constructing a particular lubricating liquid that allows organs to move around. For example, this liquid makes it posing no difficulty for the lungs to move inside the chest for the duration of breathing. The mesothelium of the chest is called the pleura and the mesothelium of the abdomen is known as the peritoneum. The mesothelium of the pericardial cavity (the “sac-like” space around the heart) is called the pericardium.
Tumors of the mesothelium may be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). A malignant tumor of the mesothelium is called a malignant mesothelioma. Because most mesothelial tumors are cancerous, malignant mesothelioma is oftentimes plainly called mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma was recognized as a tumor of the pleura, peritoneum and pericardium in the late 1700′s. However it was not until much later, in 1960, that this queer type of tumor was described in more detail and even more importantly, it is association with asbestos exposure was recognized. The firstborn report linking mesothelioma to asbestos exposure was written by J.C.Wagner, and described 32 cases of workers in the “Asbestos Hills” in South Africa. Since than the kinship among mesothelioma and asbestos exposure has been confirmed in studies around the world.
The incidence of mesothelioma in the United States remains very low, with 14 cases occurring per million persons per year. Despite these numbers the noticed threefold increase in mesothelioma in males amongst 1970 and 1984, is directly related with environmental and occupational exposure to asbestos, for the most part in areas of asbestos product plants and shipbuilding facilities.
Although the sickness is much more commonly seen in 60-year old men, it has been described in women and early childhood as well. The cause of the impairment of normal physiological function is not so well understood in these latter two groups, but there is numerous proof of possible asbestos exposure for a good deal of of these cases as well.
Mesothelioma is one of the deadliest impairment of normal physiological functions known to man; the intermediate life span of an inflicted person from the time of diagnosis until death is less than 24 months. It’s a sickness that strikes approximately 3,000 United States citizens each and each year; hard working persons who have labored for a lifetime to provide for their families, doing the work that keeps this country running and a outstanding place to live. They worked in factories, at shipyards, in mines, for the US military, as engineers, as pipefitters, as steel workers, as automati mechanics, and in so a lot of other professions. They came home to their loved ones exhausted and covered in dirt and dust; tired, but content that they had a occupation and were providing for their family. Content that they were putting feed on the table and a house over their loved one’s heads. Content that they were working to make a better life for their families in this generation and the next…
But what they didn’t know was that while they were working so hard, they were not only tardily killing themselves, but those that they were working so hard to help; their family, their loved ones.
What is the mesothelium?
The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells: One layer without delay surrounds the organ; the other forms a sac around it. The mesothelium gives rise to a lubricating liquid that is freed amongst these layers, permitting moving organs (such as the beating heart and the expanding and contracting lungs) to glide effortlessly versus adjacent structures.
The mesothelium has dissimilar names, depending on it is emplacement in the body. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart. The mesothelial tissue surrounding the male internal generative organs is called the tunica vaginalis testis. The tunica serosa uteri covers the internal generative organs in women.
What Is My Diagnosis?
There are three types of mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung (pleura), peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), and pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining surrounding the heart (pericardium). Sub-types (or cell types) of mesothelioma are epithelioid (the most common, and considered the most amenable to treatment), sarcomatous (a much more aggressive form), and biphasic or mixed (a combining of both of the other cell types).
The structural aspect of cells underneath the microscope determine the cell or sub-type of mesothelioma. Epithelioid is the least aggressive; sarcomatoid, the most aggressive. The biphasic or mixed cell type shows structural elements of both of the other two.
There are three types of mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung (pleura), peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), and pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining surrounding the heart (pericardium). Sub-types (or cell types) of mesothelioma are epithelioid (the most common, and considered the most amenable to treatment), sarcomatous (a much more aggressive form), and biphasic or mixed (a combining of both of the other cell types).