Mesothelioma Cancer
What is mesothelioma?
Malignant Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is found in the lining of the chest and lung (the pleura), the abdomen (the peritoneum), or the saclike space around the heart (the pericardium). Although it is rare, mesothelioma is a very serious disease that is often at an advanced stage when the diagnosis is made. In the United States an estimated 2000 to 4000 new
cases of Mesothelioma are diagnosed each year. Approximately three fourths of these cases start in
the chest cavity and are called pleural mesotheliomas. Another 10% to 20% begin in the abdomen and are called peritoneal mesotheliomas. Lastly, those that start in the lining around the heart are called pericardial mesotheliomas, but these are extremely rare.
Are there different types of Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is divided into three main types, based on what the cancer cells look like under the microscope. The most frequent type is epithelioid. About 50% to 70% of mesotheliomas are of this type. It usually has the best prognosis or outlook of the three. The second type is called the sarcomatoid, which makes up about 7% to 20% of mesotheliomas. It has a very unpredictable pattern or nature. The last type, called mixed or biphasic, is a combination of the first two types
and makes up about 20% to 35% of mesotheliomas. Although there are different types of mesothelioma,
the treatment options, at this time, are essentially the
same for all types.
What is the pleura Mesothelioam?
The pleura is a sheetlike lining formed by rectangular cells called mesothehal cells, and is usually not more than a few layers thick. There are two pleuras in the chest; the parietal pleura lines the inside of the chest wall like wallpaper, covering not only the inside of the ribs but also the diaphragm (the muscle in between the chest and abdominal cavities that moves with breathing)
and pericardium. The normal parietal pleura is no more than 2 to 3 mm thick, where the normal visceral pleura is fused to the lung and is about 1 mm thick.
The visceral pleura is a separate pleura that covers the lung and is much more difficult to remove without harming the lung. The pleura filters fluid back and
forth from the chest to the circulation in the normal human, but it is expendable if it becomes diseased
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