Posts Tagged pleural cavity

Three Variations of Mesothelioma

Posted by in Uncategorized on January 20th, 2010

There are three variations of Mesothelioma and each has its own symptoms, treatments and area of focus.

Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural Mesothelioma refers this asbestos-caused cancer that affects the lungs. The thin sac that lines the chest cavity is called the pleura; inside that sac is a second sac that surrounds the lungs. These thin linings are the areas affected by Pleural Mesothelioma. The membranes that form the sacs, known as the mesothelium, secrete a fluid that allows the lungs to expand and contract during breathing. Tiny, sharp, microscopic fibers from asbestos or asbestos-related materials can be breathed into the lungs where they penetrate the lung walls and find their way into the pleural cavity. In the pleural cavity, these strands of asbestos damage the mesothelium, sometimes destroying it, and potentially cause Mesothelioma. Pleural Mesothelioma accounts for approximately 75% of all cases of Mesothelioma.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Peritoneal Mesothelioma refers to the asbestos-caused cancer that affects the peritoneum, the thin membrane that surrounds the parts of the gastrointestinal tract (stomach, intestines and other digestive organs) to provide lubrication so that they can move and function properly. When asbestos or asbestos-related material swallowed the tiny fibers enter the stomach penetrate the lining of the stomach. When the fibers penetrate the stomach wall and move into the lining of the peritoneum, they move into the inner lining and begin to mutate into cancerous cells. These cancer cells can overpower the normal healthy cells and become mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium). They can become tumors that prevent the stomach and intestines from working properly. Also, the stomach will be unable to continue making the protective lining that helps it to function. For the stomach and intestines to work and digest the food, they must be able to move about in the peritoneum and the mesothelioma prevents this. Peritoneal Mesothelioma is the second most common of the three variations.

Pericardial Mesothelioma

Pericardial Mesothelioma mainly affects the mesothelium of the pericardium (the sac surrounding the heart). Exposure to asbestos or asbestos-related materials that have been inhaled, make their way through the lungs and to the area of the heart where they enter the mesothelium around the heart. The heart must be able to move to function properly and the ease of movement of the heart is due to the constant lubrication in the membrane surrounding the heart. The lubrication of the thin layer of mucus comes from the mesothelium. Asbestos fibers that have been inhaled can pierce and damage the sac surrounding the heart and cause mesothelioma. The cancer can spread and tumors can grow as well that destroy the tissues of the heart’s mesothelium. Pericardial Mesothelioma accounts for about 5% of all cases and the rarest of all of the Mesothelioma types.

Three Variations of Mesothelioma

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How Does Asbestos Cause Mesothelioma?

Posted by in Uncategorized on October 9th, 2009

The main way by which asbestos fibers get into the body is through the respiratory system. Fibers released into the air are inhaled by the exposed individuals and are transported into the deep parts of the lungs.

Asbestos fibers that have been lumped into heavier particles of plaster, concrete or paint are often expelled through coughing and rarely get to the deep parts of the lungs. Post- mortem examinations of lungs of dead victims of mesothelioma have revealed that asbestos fibers tend to accumulate near the bottom lobes of the lungs, in the gutter of the thoracic cavity and on the surface of the diaphragm.

These asbestos fibers migrate from the lung spaces called the alveoli into the intra- pleural space, within the mesothelial layer of the space. This was described by many physicians as a “clearing” of the lungs. It has also been hypothesized that asbestos fibers can be swallowed or may enter directly by piercing the skin. It is not known why some patients develop peritoneal mesothelioma rather than the more common pleural based disease.

The clearing of the lungs is directly connected to the two primary theories about how injury is caused by asbestos.

The first theory postulates that the asbestos fibers pierce the tissue walls of the pleural space (and sometimes the peritoneal space via the stomach or the diaphragm) and cause tissue damage which creates an inflammatory immune response.

The second theory states that the asbestos fibers are so small that they begin to interact with mesothelial cells at a molecular level, interrupting cell replication and/or damaging the cellular DNA during mitosis, or cell division.

The migration of the asbestos fibers out of the alveoli is possible because of the small size of the asbestos fibers. This allows them to pierce the cell walls and migrate between cell boundaries into the mesothelial lining of the pleural cavity or even into the intrapleural space. There, they sometimes penetrate the diaphragm and make their way into the abdomen or the testes leading to abdominal and testicular mesothelioma.

Whenever these fibers migrate, they leave a trail of damaged or compromised cells behind. They usually elicit an inflammatory response which leads to the formation of malignant tumor cells of mesothelioma. The response to this damage varies by individual and invariably involves the immune system. Evidence for the response is found in the irritation and destruction of cells and the creation of scar tissue at the site of the injury.

This process can be quite significant in the case of heavy asbestos exposure and can lead to major impairment of the lungs as a crust or plaque of fibrous scar tissue forms over the affected areas. Microscopic examination of this material has often found asbestos fibers entombed in the nodules and layers of tissue and has been used as undeniable evidence for the asbestos connection as a cause for the injury in asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma.

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