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Understanding Pleural Mesothelioma - Causes And Symptoms

Pleural mesothelioma is a disease which has become more prevalent of late. It is a condition which is presented in the lung pleura, otherwise known as the lung lining. It cannot be classified as a primary cancer as it infects membranes rather than organs initially. With Pleural mesothelioma the cancer will affect the lungs' serous membranes. If not treated Mesothelioma can spread and will go on to affect a number of the body's organs which are contained within the serous membrane if not diagnosed and treated early enough. You may often find Pleural mesothelioma being called asbestos lung cancer.

Figures show that around three quarters of all mesothelioma patients suffer from the pleural form of the condition. This is actually due to an inhalation of fibres from asbestos. These are very small in dimension and are able to make the way into the lungs where they settle. Over time, which may be decades, these fibres are embedded into the lung's lining, or pleura. It is this which then leads to serious inflammation of the tissue and the growth of tumours which can often be cancerous. It may also lead to a further condition known as asbestosis.

Typically, pleural mesothelioma cancer will appear en masse in multiple tumours on the parietal (outside) surface of the pleura as well as the inside or visceral surface. In most cases it is the outside surface which has the greatest occurrence of inflammation and tumours. It has been noticed that there is a greater frequency of cancers in the right lung as opposed to the left when suffering from pleural mesothelioma. It is believed this is because the right lung cavity is bigger in size and therefore has a larger surface area. It is also common that the lower portion of the lungs have a greater mass of cancerous cells than the upper regions. This can be put down to gravity pulling the asbestos particles and fibres deep into the lungs once they have been breathed in.

A quick medical diagnosis will provide evidence of large growths in the pleura if mesothelioma is the problem. Once the condition begins it may often rapidly progress, resulting in the complete destruction of the entire lung cavity. It is all too easy for any tumours to also spread to organs such as the abdomen and the heart. It is also possible for the cancer to invade the body's circulatory system and lymph nodes.

Apart from pleural mesothelioma there are other cancerous tumours which may also present themselves in the lining of the lungs. These will spread from other regions of the body. A typical example is lung cancer; this disease makes up around a third of all cancers relating to the pleura.

One of the major symptoms of pleural mesothelioma is suffering from severe chest pain, though this may not always be in the lung area. For example the pain may exist is the upper abdomen or shoulder region. Dyspnea, a breathing difficulty, is also a common symptom of the disease. Other obvious signs are a persistent bad cough and rapid weight loss due to a lack of appetite. Over time there can be a build up of fluid in the pleural space causing severe discomfort and pain.

It is rare for the symptoms to present themselves in individuals below the age of fifty, most often the first signs of a problem are noticed only thirty or forty years after the exposure to the actual asbestos fibres has occurred. Because of this the disease often progresses unnoticed until it reaches a serious and terminal stage. Unfortunately even a brief exposure to the harmful fibres, as short as thirty days, may lead to pleural mesothelioma in later life.

Sadly, the prognosis for patients suffering pleural mesothelioma is not great. In a clinical study of one hundred and sixty seven patients, the average survival length following diagnosis was only two hundred and forty two days. So far most mesothelioma treatments have had only limited success in stopping the spread and progress of the cancerous tumours. The actual treatments can be classified into two groups: new and old.

The old traditional methods of treating mesothelioma are the same as used for many other forms of cancer, namely chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The biggest difficulty is that the tumours affect the lung's lining, for this reason surgery which is often successful in other cancer treatments is not often an option is mesothelioma patients. As it is a disease with a low survival rate you will find that the both chemo and radio therapy are given together to try to increase the patients chance of recovery.

Cancer treatment is an area in which there is ongoing research and development. There are new treatments for mesothelioma which are hoped to be able to succeed where the traditional methods have failed. There are advances in medical technology every year which allow a greater understanding of how tumours affect healthy cells and replicate. The following new methods may prove more positive then chemotherapy and radiotherapy once they are more widely available: Photodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, and intensity modulated therapy. The actual treatment which is given will depend upon the stage at which the mesothelioma has progressed to.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma then you should not give up all hope. Try to remain positive and research as much as you can into ways to slowing down the onset of the cancers. Keep on top of the latest news from cancer research organisations. If possible you may want to see if you can sign up for a trial of a new treatment.

Most doctors today will focus on alleviating the pain so that the patients can try to live a normal life as possible. There are various ways that this can be achieved. Drugs can be administered to bring down the inflammation in the lungs as well as reduce the severity of the pain in other parts of the body.