Mesothelioma is usually the primary tumor of the pleura. There are 2 types:
Located Mesothelioma (benign and malignant)
Diffuse Malignant Mesothelioma
Causes
There is a hard correlation between exposure to asbestos and developing mesothelioma, although history there have been cases of mesothelioma without exposure to asbestos. There are 2 types of asbestos fibers based on their crystalline structure, serpentine and amphibole. The most damaging is the best known as crocidolite or blue asbestos.
Located Mesothelioma Benign
Usually arise in the inner layer of the pleura
Symptoms:
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Most of the time there are no Mesothelioma symptoms (asymptomatic), these tumors are usually found in the chest when we review X-ray
- Hypoglycemia (blood sugar) sometimes is related
Treatment:
Surgery is the mainstay of treatment, the tumor is removed by the surgeon and is usually not played back.
Located Mesothelioma Malignant
Symptoms:
-Chest pain
Cough
Fever
-Shortness of breath
Treatment:
There is only treated through surgery, but the prognosis is very poor
Diffuse malignant mesothelioma
This type of mesothelioma can be derived from any part of the pleura and frequently extends into the peritoneum and in the ribs and chest wall (peritoneal mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma). Also commonly spread to the glands liver, brain and adrenal glands.
Research:
Chest CT is very useful in the diagnosis of tumor extension.
-Needle biopsy (the surgeon inserts a needle into the pleura to sample the tumor to be examined in the laboratory) of the pleura.
Pleural fluid is aspirated, and taken to the laboratory for microscopic analysis.
Treatment:
The treatment is poor and ineffective and rarely survive more than 2 years with an average of 10-14 months. In cases detected early enough, surgery may be effective, but long-term survival is rare. You can also use radiation therapy or chemotherapy, but the outcome remains largely ineffective.