Understanding Pleural Mesothelioma: A Rare and Aggressive Cancer
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Understanding Pleural Mesothelioma: A Rare and Aggressive Cancer

ByHolly Zink

Pleural mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs, caused by exposure to asbestos. Despite being rare, pleural mesothelioma is aggressive and challenging to treat. A new article provides an overview of pleural mesothelioma, including its causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options. Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment Exposure to asbestos is the primary cause of pleural mesothelioma. Asbestos fibers, when inhaled, can become lodged in the lungs, leading to inflammation and scarring of the pleura. Other risk factors for pleural mesothelioma include genetic predisposition and certain infections. Asbestos exposure remains the most significant risk factor. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma can be nonspecific and may include chest pain, shortness of breath, and coughing. But, these…

Misleading Symptoms: The Complex Path to Diagnosing Mesothelioma
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Misleading Symptoms: The Complex Path to Diagnosing Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Patients with symptoms that look like mesothelioma take longer to get an accurate diagnosis, finds a study out of the United Kingdom. The Complex Path to Diagnosing Mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops from the cells in the lining of many of the internal organs in the body. There are about 2,000 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in the United States each year. It is caused by exposure to asbestos. Symptoms of mesothelioma may include shortness of breath, chest pain, weight loss, and fatigue. These are so like many other diseases that only a proper work-up, including scans and even a biopsy, can determine if the cause is mesothelioma. Because the disease is so rare, it can…

Does Pleural Fluid Exposure Affect Mesothelioma Survival?
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Does Pleural Fluid Exposure Affect Mesothelioma Survival?

ByAlex Strauss

A recent study found no link between mesothelioma survival and exposure to pleural fluid. But that does not necessarily mean the link doesn’t exist.  Pleural fluid is also called pleural effusions or “water on the lungs”. It is extra fluid that builds up around the lungs. It is common in people with heart failure, kidney or liver disease, pleural mesothelioma and some other kinds of cancer.  Pleural effusions are usually treated as an uncomfortable mesothelioma symptom. Draining the fluid can help patients breathe easier.  But researchers at Oxford University wondered whether the pleural fluid itself could shorten mesothelioma survival. In this study, the answer appears to be no. But the researchers warn this may not be the final word on…

Uncertainly, Worry, and Hope Characterize the Experience of Mesothelioma
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Uncertainly, Worry, and Hope Characterize the Experience of Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The experience of mesothelioma is characterized by uncertainty and worry for some patients. But the same patients say they are also optimistic and hopeful.  These findings come from in-depth interviews with seven people with pleural mesothelioma. They were all patients at Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia.  This is not the first study on the lived experience of mesothelioma. But the authors say American mesothelioma patients are underrepresented in the medical literature. The US has a higher number of mesothelioma deaths each year than any other country.  The new study shows the experience of these patients is much like that of mesothelioma patients elsewhere in the world.  Fostering Understanding, Identifying Needs Mesothelioma is an extremely rare cancer with a poor prognosis….

Acupuncture for Cancer May Relieve Mesothelioma Symptoms
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Acupuncture for Cancer May Relieve Mesothelioma Symptoms

ByAlex Strauss

There is new evidence that acupuncture may help relieve some of the worst symptoms of cancer and cancer treatment. The new study of this ancient practice could be good news for people with mesothelioma symptoms. A recent study from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas tested acupuncture for cancer symptoms in 375 patients. Researchers found that this ancient complementary therapy helped many cancer patients feel better. Almost three out of four of them chose to come back for at least one follow-up treatment.   Treating Cancer Symptoms with Acupuncture The new study did not focus specifically on mesothelioma symptoms. Most of the patients in the study had either breast cancer or cancer in the chest, head, or neck. But their…

Shoulder Pain: An Early Symptom of Mesothelioma?
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Shoulder Pain: An Early Symptom of Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

There is new evidence that mesothelioma can affect more than just the part of the body where a tumor occurs. Along with lung-related symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath, a new study suggests that shoulder pain can also be an early sign of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Polish researchers reached that conclusion after studying the cases of 49 mesothelioma patients treated at the Central Clinical Hospital in Warsaw between 2006 and 2012. In looking over the patients’ medical records, they found that seven of the patients (14.3%) listed shoulder pain as the very first symptom of mesothelioma. In most cases, the shoulder pain among mesothelioma patients was relatively mild, with an average severity of 4 on a scale of…

Test May Distinguish Mesothelioma from Benign Conditions
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Test May Distinguish Mesothelioma from Benign Conditions

ByAlex Strauss

One of the biggest challenges for patients and clinicians dealing with malignant pleural mesothelioma is just getting a definitive diagnosis. Although mesothelioma is closely associated with asbestos, symptoms may not show up until decades after exposure, making it difficult to link the cause and effect. When symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath do occur, they are often attributed to other, less serious causes. But a recent article in Lung Cancer focuses on a promising new way to help distinguish mesothelioma from other conditions with similar characteristics. Researchers at the University of Chicago and cancer centers in the UK, France, and Japan say a glucose transport protein called GLUT-1 was present in half of the epithelioid mesothelioma cells…

Inflammation Both “Friend and Foe” in Mesothelioma
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Inflammation Both “Friend and Foe” in Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

An immune system response that causes mesothelioma symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and weight loss may also be helpful to clinicians as a way to find and treat the disease. Scientists with The Asbestos Diseases Research Institute in Sydney, Australia make that case that both systemic inflammation (throughout the body) and at the site of a tumor – has long been associated with mesothelioma and other cancers. Inflammation results when the body attempts to address the imbalances of cancer by producing more of certain immune system cells. Some inflammatory markers, such as CD+8 T-cells and C-reactive protein, have been linked to better prognosis in mesothelioma. Other inflammatory markers, such as certain macrophages and a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, can signal the…

New Molecule May Aid Mesothelioma Diagnosis
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New Molecule May Aid Mesothelioma Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists at one of the nation’s top cancer centers say they have come up with a new imaging tool that may make it easier to diagnose and monitor mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, a cancer that attacks the membranes encasing the lungs or abdominal organs, is caused by exposure to airborne asbestos. It is a very challenging cancer to treat and most patients explore conventional therapies, clinical trials and integrative modalities. Mesothelioma symptoms, which can include shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing and chest pain, can mimic other illnesses, including lung cancer. Their sheet-like shape can also make mesothelioma tumors difficult to see on imaging studies. Just as treatment is usually multi-faceted, physicians often must use multiple methods to diagnose mesothelioma. One of the most popular…