The Latest On Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Caused By Exposure To Asbestos

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Patients with early stage malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs, may be eligible for aggressive multi-modality therapy involving surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. There are two main approaches, and controversy has existed about which approach is superior. One is called extrapleural pnemonectomy (EPP), a very extensive surgery where surgeons remove the entire diseased lung, lung lining (pleura), part of the membrane covering the heart (pericardium) and part of the diaphragm. Another approach involves a less extensive surgery called pleurectomy/decortication (P/D), where surgeons remove part of the lining around the lungs, potentially part, but not all of the lung, and potentially part of the diaphragm and/or membrane around the heart. Research presented in the April 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology concludes that the P/D method had better results for patients in a recent analysis.

According to the study, "EPP resulted in higher mortality and morbidity than P/D, and P/D resulted in significantly better survival in our experience as in others." The authors, "propose that P/D becomes the standard surgical procedure offered as part of multi-modality therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma."

Until recently, EPP was the considered the standard of treatment. But this latest study along with other recent research seems to point to P/D becoming the new standard of treatment. Dr. Michael Weyant, thoracic surgeon and assistant professor at the University of Colorado, wrote an editorial in the April JTO about this topic. He concludes that, "the results of the current study by Lang-Lazdunksi et al provide additional data that should lead us to consider P/D in all trials of treatment for MPM. It is too early based on this data to completely abandon EPP altogether as there may be patient subsets where the potential reward outweighs the risks of the procedure."

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What Is The Latest Mesothelioma Disease Information?

One of the most aggressive cancers of the last century is also the one least known about in the public eye. Mesothelioma disease information was the least talked about, especially when it came to public news about dangers of asbestos. Strides towards ending this cancer were accomplished when the substance that causes it, asbestos, was removed, by law, from many of the same places that workers were exposed to it, like factories and shipyards, and its use in construction became outlawed. It was not until a number of workers in the mines where it was cultivated came down with the cancer than more information was finally released to the public.

What Is Mesothelioma?

Now that the world has learned more Mesothelioma disease information, some basic facts have become known about this very aggressive form of cancer. It is chiefly caused by exposure to asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral mined throughout the Southwest, and the victims most likely to develop it were construction workers, miners, and industrial workers that created the insulation used in construction and other industries.

Mesothelioma disease information also revealed that this cancer is primarily found in the lining of the lungs, heart and abdomen. Pleural Mesothelioma, where the asbestos fibers have lodged themselves within the very liner that allows the lungs their free movement during breathing, is the most common. Pericardial Mesothelioma is more rare, when asbestos fibers have found their way into the pericardium, the membrane around the heart. Peritoneal Mesothelioma, is also rare, and occurs when the asbestos finds its way to the stomach lining.

Symptoms And Treatment

The symptoms associated with Pleural Mesothelioma, the most common form according to Mesothelioma disease information, begins with shortness of breath, an extraordinary buildup of fluid within the lungs, and chronic hoarseness. By the time this cancer is diagnosed, the victim is also experiencing chronic coughing, with blood, muscle weakness and chest pain. Final stages include sensory loss, paralysis and swelling in the face and arms. All too often companies claimed that their workers were affected by it because they also smoked, causing the fibers to be inhaled in that manner, and ineligible for compensation through attorneys and law firms.

The treatment options available for this common form, according to Mesothelioma disease information, will require several surgeries to complete. The first surgery often performed by doctors at clinics and treatment centers is a pleurectomy decortication, removing part of the lung lining in order to remove any tumors. If the tumors continue to appear, a second surgery, a extrapleural pneumonectomy, removing up to one lung, in order to get all of the tumors out of the body.

Laws And Litigation

According to Mesothelioma disease information, because the symptoms are so similar to a host of other diseases, the fact that it is cancer is often found too late for effective treatment. This has led to many lawsuits filed by lawyers against the companies responsible, and to many states creating laws to limit litigation and compensation as a result.

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