Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma develops in the lining of the lungs. This lining is called the pleura, or pleural membrane, and it is made up of mesothelial cells. This mesotheliol cells can damage the surround tissues and organs.

Asbestos exposure occurs via inhalation of asbestos fibers. Once these fibers have entered the lungs, they flow to the pleural membrane, and the body can not expel them. After 20 years or more, asbestos fibers cause changes in these pleural cells, and then form the cancerous cells.

After pleural cells become cancerous, they are no longer regulated by the mechanisms that control division of normal healthy cells. They begin to divide continuously, and this causes thickening of pleural membranes. As a result, lung capacity is reduced, and fluid begins to build up between pleural layers.

Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are shortness of breath or dyspnea, pain in the chest, painful breathing, development of lumps under the skin on the chest, difficulty in swallowing or dysphagia, hemoptysis or coughing up blood, raspy cough,  weight loss, night sweats, fever, fatigue.   

Pleural mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose like the other types of mesothelioma because the symptoms are non specific, as the symptoms are almost the same with other disease like pneumonia or influenza.

Following a medical history review and physical examination, patients must typically undergo imaging tests to confirm the location of cancer, and fluid and tissue tests to confirm the type of cancer involved.

Pleural mesothelioma is very aggressive and resistant to treatments. However, with the development of new drugs and early detection techniques, the outlook is improving for pleural mesothelioma patients in particular, because this is the most common form of mesothelioma and there is a much larger body of knowledge and research to draw upon in treating patients. According to some current studies, approximately 10 percent of all pleural mesothelioma patients will survive for three to five years following diagnosis, and about 5 percent will survive five years or more. The treatment options for pleural mesothelioma patient’s are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Early diagnosis is important as mesothelioma is a kind of malignant cancer which grows without order.