Pericardial Mesothelioma: Fast Facts

What is pericardial mesothelioma ?

It is a cancer caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust, and is the most rare of mesothelioma cancers. It accounts for about 5% of all cases.
Its period of latency (time it takes for the symptoms to show) is approximately 30-50 years. Symptoms are similar to other diseases such as pneumonia whilst in the early stages. This makes it rather difficult to diagnose and treat.

What are the treatment options for pericardial mesothelioma ?

There are three options available for an individual diagnosed with this cancer; surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. A patient will first require a doctor's evaluation to determine which treatment option is suitable for him.

What are my chances of survival from pericardial mesothelioma ?

It is important to stress that once you start experiencing the symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma (shortness of breath, chest pains, coughing up blood, and palpitations) you should immediately seek specialized help.
The prognosis of pericardial mesothelioma depends largely on how early the cancer is detected. Should you be diagnosed in the later stages of development, your chances of survival could be very slim (usually a few months).

Can you go through each of the treatment options ?

Radiation - large doses of radiation are used to kill the cancerous cells on the pericardium. The disadvantage of using radiation to treat pericardial mesothelioma is that the vital organs close to the heart are also being damaged.

Surgery - this can be divided into two parts; aggressive surgery & palliative procedures. Aggressive surgery involves the removal of the cancerous cells from the pericardium. This procedure is only performed by an extremely skilled surgeon as the cells are usually located in close proximity to the heart and lungs. Any small mishap can have a fatal outcome.
Palliative procedures are used in the latest stages of pericardial mesothelioma. They serve the sole purpose of relieving the symptoms since the cancer is almost incurable at this stage.

Chemotherapy - drugs are used to kill the cancerous cells. Unfortunately, the majority of drugs used to treat pericardial mesothelioma have an extremely low success rate. Pharmaceutical companies are conducting trials to come up with the right combination of drugs that can produce better results for treating pericardial mesothelioma.

You also have dual therapy which is just a combination of the three methods. Cancerous cells are removed by means of surgery, then the remaining cells are killed off by radiation and chemotherapy. Although still dangerous, dual therapy has demonstrated a higher success rate than using the three individual methods alone.

Mesothelioma-The Basics

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is becoming more and more common. The most common cause of this cancer is exposure to asbestos. When constantly exposed with insufficient protection, asbestos dust and fibres affect the mesothelial cells which make up the mesothelium. The mesothelium is the outer lining that protects some of the body’s most vital organs such as the heart and lungs. The mesothelial cells become abnormal after lengthy periods of constant exposure to asbestos causing an array of problems.

Due to the latency period and symptoms of this cancer, mesothelioma is very difficult to diagnose. Mesothelioma takes decades to mature and develop fully and this is why many elderly men who were exposed to asbestos thirty years before are just discovering they have the cancer. A lot of these men are currently lodging multi-million dollar lawsuits against the companies that exposed them to the dangers of asbestos without sufficient protection.

The organs that are affected most by mesothelioma are the lungs. The most common type of mesothelioma which is called pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of the lungs and can cause symptoms such as coughing, breathing and swallowing difficulties, shortness of breath and fever. Another area that can be affected by mesothelioma is the abdomen. This is less common and this is known as peritoneal mesothelioma. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include nausea and vomiting, weight loss, fever, bowel obstruction, loss of appetite and general pain in the stomach area. The last and least common type of mesothelioma is known as pericardial mesothelioma and it affects the heart and the tissue surrounding it. Symptoms of this form of the cancer include palpitations, breathing difficulties and persistent coughing. Generally, the symptoms of mesothelioma are typical of many other diseases and this makes it very difficult to diagnose.

There are treatments for mesothelioma although these are usually unsuccessful. If the cancer is treated aggressively in its early stages then there is a good chance of a patient surviving. However, due to the difficulty to diagnose mesothelioma, the cancer is not normally found until it is too late. Treatments that are used for mesothelioma include surgery, radiation therapy, palliative therapy and chemotherapy. Research for additional treatment of mesothelioma is being done at various cancer centers all over the United States as well as by pharmaceutical companies.

A Look At What Can Be Done Medically For Mesothelioma

As with any malignant neoplastic disease, handling of Mesothelioma depends upon the area affected by the cancer, the advancement of the disease, the age as well as the wellness of the person to be treated.

It's the oncologist who's specialties in the disease that will determine on the form of discourse. The cancer is hard to address and in many cases the medical prognosis is misfortunate. Discourse choices include:

1. Whenever the diagnosing is complete in the early phases a surgical procedure might be advocated to take out all cancerous tissues. This entails thoracoscopy, VATS or picture assisted thoracic surgery, mediastinoscopy (utilized for presenting), or laproscopy. Frequently, MDs will propose alleviant processes like chest tube drains and pleurodesis, thoracoscopy and pleurodesis, pleuroperitonial shunt, or pleurectomy, which deal with the symptoms of mesothelioma instead of the disease.

2. Radiation therapy is ordered aggressively for mesothelioma victims and is frequently presented in combination with a surgical process or in order to curb symptoms, palliatively. Exploreation on using radiation utilizing implants or ultraviolet light therapy is ongoing as traditional irradiation damages bordering sound tissue.

3. Chemotherapy is an alternative and approximately twelve - twenty% of people respond . Anti-cancer drugs demolish cancer cells and forestall their spread. In mesothelioma, chemotherapy isn't believed to be curative. The intent is to avoid spread of the disease; contract the tumor before surgical procedure, called neoadjuvant therapy; to decimate any remains of the tumor in the body agter surgery; and to alleviate painfulness and additional irritation, palliative chemotherapy. Authorities advocate ordering premetrexed along with cisplastin. These drugs have demonstrated favorable results and this is now the norm for Mesothelioma not treatable by surgical procedure.

4. Biologic therapy utilizing interleukin 2.

5. Immunotherapy where the body’s own immune scheme is aroused to combat the disease. Biologic reaction modifiers, BRMs, are utilized in discourse. These heighten the functions of the immune system; govern metabolic reactions that elevate growth of cancers; change cancer cellular division; impede or invert processes that lead to shaping of cancers; and forestall spread of cancer.

6. Gene therapy, where endeavors are made to rectify the gene sequence that induces the cancer. This is of 2 kinds, replacement gene therapy and knockout gene therapy.

7. Giving medication of lovastatin, a cholesterin lowering drug.

8. Photodynamic treatment where a light-sensitive medication is set off using a laser. This is arranged during the operative removal of cancerous tissues.

9. Draining of fluid in the chest or abdomen accompanied by initiation of medicines into the cavity to forestall fluid assemblage is done for patients who have unrestrained fluid collection and intense uncomfortableness stemming from it.

10. Combining therapy or Trimodal therapy which entails surgical procedure followed by radiation and chemotherapy.

Frequently, complemental medications are also utilized. Termed as holistic this sort of discourse centers on a patient’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare.

In the instance of Mesothelioma which is considered fatal one can choose clinical trials of fresh treatments that are ongoing in several research labs and centers. The finest advice on the line of treatment would be that suggested by the oncologist or MD as each case is different.