Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma - Asbestos Exposure

Note: Don’t miss to watch the video following after this article to learn further and have a better insight about malignant pleural mesothelioma. The video is very informative and helps you learn “these big words” that medical books/studies and doctors are using.

Dr. Raja Flores, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, gives the best explanation in the video about malignant pleural mesothelioma. He said: “In medicine we try to make ourselves seem really smart. So we use these big words that people frequently cannot understand… So every once in a while you’ll come across these big words that we use and they just mean simple things. But we’re trying to confuse people because it makes us feel as if that we’re a little bit smarter.” . . .The following information/excerpts are taken from Merck Manual and and Currrent Medical Diagnosis and Treatment books.

Pleural mesothelioma is the only known pleural malignancy and is caused by asbestos exposure in nearly all cases. Asbestos workers have up to a 10% lifetime risk of developing the disease, with an average latency of 30 year. Risk is independent of smoking.

Mesothelioma can spread locally or metastasize to the pericardium, diaphragm, peritoneum, and rarely, the tunica vaginalis of the testis.

Patients most often present with dyspnea and nonpleuritic chest pain… Invasion of the chest wall and other adjacent structures may cause severe pain, hoarseness, dysphagia, Horner’s syndrome, brachial plexopathy, or ascites. Extra thoracic spread occurs in up to 80% of patients, most commonly including the hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes, liver, adrenals, and kidneys.¹

Signs and Symptoms

The mean age at onset of symptoms of malignant pleural mesothelioma is about 60 years. Symptoms include the insidious onset of shortness of breath, nonpleuritic chest pain, and weight loss. Physical findings include dullness to percussion, diminished breath sound and, in some cases, digital clubbing.

Laboratory Findings and Diagnosis

Pleural fluid is exudative and often hemorrhagic. VATS biopsy is usually necessary to obtain an adequate specimen for histologic diagnosis; even then distinction from benign inflammatory conditions and from metastatic adenocarcinoma may be difficult. The histologic variants of malignant pleural mesothelioma are epithelial and fibrous (sarcomatous). Special stains and electron microscopy may be needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Imaging

Radiographic abnormalities consist of nodular, irregular, unilateral pleural thickening and varying degrees of unilateral pleural effusion. There may be scoliosis toward the side of the lesion. CT scan helps demonstrate the extent of pleural involvement. ²

Watch the video for a better understanding on malignant pleural mesothelioma. Dr. Raja Flores, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center gives the best explanation about malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Watch the next video with Dr. Raja Flores on this article: Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Complications, Treatment and Prognosis

¹ The Merck Manual, 18th edition, p. 471
² 2009 Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, p. 1435

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