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Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a particularly lethal form of cancer, the incidence is rising throughout the world. Although malignant pleural mesothelioma with the common tumors such as prostate or breast cancer compared to little attention, but so that patients and their families have paid a heavy price. While traditionally the disease is generally considered non-save, but the trend is changing.

What is malignant pleural mesothelioma?

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (Mesothelioma) is the lung cancer of the pleura, or envelope. Because of its location in the body’s anatomy, the tumor growth can squeeze the lung and chest located in the middle of the shift anatomy, including the heart and airway. It should be noted that tumor growth can expand the oppression diaphragm so that breathing is restricted dynamics.

Lead to the cause of malignant pleural mesothelioma?

Malignant pleural mesothelioma The main risk factors for asbestos exposure, many years ago when not yet aware of the dangers of asbestos, many engaged in the transportation, mining and the insulation industry through the work of the people exposed to asbestos fibers, but not only with Asbestos direct contact with the men and women, the report showed that through the touch of a relative uniform indirect exposure to asbestos have also taken place in the family of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma demonstrated How long will it take?

The typical time needed 20-40 years to the performance of malignant pleural mesothelioma have a long incubation period.

How common malignant pleural mesothelioma?

The United States each year there are about 3,000 new cases, all in all, the global incidence of approximately 10,000 to 15,000 per year for patients. The disease incidence in the United States may have reached a peak, the main reason the United States in the early 1970s on the issue of the ban on asbestos, but in Europe, to reduce asbestos exposure to the efforts of the backward 10 years, began the destruction of all the cleaning and Asbestos materials were late to work a lot, so will the incidence in 2010 reached a peak in Europe. ?

In patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma is a typical example of what?

Almost all patients in the initial diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma on with some of the symptoms of cancer - usually severe pain, shortage of breath, fatigue and weight loss. Most of the patients symptoms occur more generally of a sudden and gradual deterioration of the development of up to the bedridden patients and the loss of day-to-day activities.
Stressed the need for mesothelioma is the most serious symptoms of pain, many nerve endings located in the pleura, because of the tumor growth, achieved incredible pain, pain can be so severe that patients often wake up from sleep. In addition, the tumor is located in the lungs - lung cancer squeeze or oppression, restrictions on mobility diaphragm - so that patients can not breathe right. The first symptom to chest pain, shortness of breath and coughing the most common. To have fever, sweating or joint pain mainly v. symptoms. About more than half of a large number of pleural effusion of patients with severe shortness of breath. A large number of those without pleural effusion often more severe chest pain, weight loss common. Ordinary X-ray revealed pleural effusion, while lung tumor tissue was wrapped, and so on, have advanced cases of pericardial effusion caused by the heart shadow and the expansion of soft tissue damage, such as video and ribs.

Diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma

The main result of patients with respiratory symptoms is usually the Bureau of lung doctor, will be x-ray, CT scan and then further to provide x-ray than the more accurate diagnosis, a typical performance envelope thickening of the pulmonary for, up to normal 20 times, generally diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Then, the patient will accept the examination, as a general-assisted thoracic or fine-needle aspiration, through careful observation under a microscope for diagnosis of the organization is not an easy task, histology from the point of view there are 10-20% of the diagnosis of mesothelioma have been misdiagnosed. Combination of CT scanning, organizational diagnosis of cancer doctors to help clear diagnosis of mesothelioma. Another key is to diagnose disease in stages, that is, what kind of tumor is in progress, unfortunately, 75% of mesothelioma patients with the diagnosis, it was already very late 3 or 4.

Traditional treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma

In the past few decades, cancer doctors using a variety of different chemotherapy drugs in patients with the treatment of mesothelioma, but in fact failed to show an effective cancer, chemotherapy or joint use of new drugs targeting the disease for more than 50 clinical Study did not show the extension of survival. So far there is no control, through well-designed studies have shown that the drug can change the course of the disease.
Can choose whether surgery or radiotherapy?

Radiation can be used for pain relief, but it can not be used as an effective treatment option, because of the nature of the disease and other widespread in the chest, the radiation can not focus on a specific target. If you give large areas of the body radiotherapy, adverse reactions will be very serious. On the other hand, is one of the few early surgery patients (I, II period), the only treatment option.

The prevention of malignant pleural mesothelioma

The only way to the measures taken to avoid contact with asbestos, asbestos has been removed as a result, we believe that will reduce the incidence of mesothelioma. Of course, some people have this disease susceptibility, but we believe that the environment of asbestos exposure launched a series of cancer-causing incident.