Mesothelioma is a form of cancer closely associated with exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is a rare type of the disease, which is diagnosed in about 2,000 people in the United States each year according to the American Cancer Society. Diagnosing mesothelioma is difficult in most cases because the disease has symptoms that closely imitate a variety of other conditions. Once mesothelioma is diagnosed, then it must be "staged," a term that refers to how advanced the cancer has become.
Types of Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma describes cancer of the mesothelium, a layered membrane that protects almost all of the internal organs in a human body. Depending on where in the body it is found, the mesothelium has various names, and mesothelioma can occur in some of these membranes. Cancer of the mesothelium that encompasses the lungs is called pleural mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer in the membrane that protects the abdominal cavity. Pericardial mesothelioma affects the lining of the heart, while mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis is the cancer of the membrane that lines the testicles. Mesothelioma of the tunica serosa uteri is a cancer of the lining of the female reproductive organs.
Asbestos Exposure
When an individual is beginning to exhibit signs that mesothelioma may be present somewhere in the body, a doctor will first use a physical examination of the patient to search for any lumps or other signs that may indicate cancer. Abnormalities often show themselves on imaging scans such as an MRI or a CT scan. One of the most important factors involved in a diagnosis of mesothelioma is a thorough review of a person's medical history, with an emphasis placed on any exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma can develop as late as 30 to 50 years after a person's exposure to asbestos, so a patient's work history will be looked at carefully to see if they ever engaged in a profession where asbestos exposure may have occurred.
Biopsy
Once mesothelioma is suspected in a specific region of the body, a biopsy is needed. In this procedure, a tiny piece of tissue from the affected area will be removed, so it can be examined to determine if the cells are cancerous. There are different forms of biopsy available to a physician. Where the cancer is in the body will help a doctor make a decision on which type to utilize. For example, a fine-needle aspiration is a biopsy that employs a small needle that takes out fluid or a bit of tissue from the patient's chest or the abdomen. A thoracoscopy is a procedure where a surgeon inserts a tiny camera through small incisions in the chest to allow them to use special instruments to remove potentially cancerous tissue. A laparoscopy is a biopsy operation of the abdomen similar to a thoracoscopy.
Staging Mesothelioma
When mesothelioma has been discovered, a doctor will want to stage the disease to begin the appropriate treatment. Staging of mesothelioma is done only with the disease that involves the lining of the lungs-pleural mesothelioma. This is due to the fact that this is by far the most common form of mesothelioma and the other types have not been studied extensively enough to have accurate data to allow a physician to stage them. Chest X-rays, MRI exams, CT scans and PET scans are used to determine the extent of the mesothelioma after a diagnosis has been made.
Stages of Pleural Mesothelioma
In Stage I pleural mesothelioma, the cancer has been confined to only one region of the lining of the patient's chest. Stage II sees the cancer spread to other areas of the chest lining and/or to a lung. Stage III describes the circumstance of the cancer attacking other areas within the person's chest and perhaps having even spread to the lymph nodes. Pleural mesothelioma in Stage IV has gone far beyond the chest and may be in faraway organs such as the brain.
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