Asbestos mesothelioma is a rare cancer that occurs in the lung’s mesothelial lining, abdomen, or heart. Some of the cases of asbestos mesothelioma that have been reported were also said to have developed in the testicular linings as well. There are generally four kinds of mesothelioma: pleural (lung), pericardial (heart), peritoneal (abdomen), and testicular.

When combined, there are between 2,000 and 3,000 mesothelioma cases in the United States alone every year. Getting a diagnosis tends to be difficult because symptoms are very similar to what other more common conditions manifest, leading doctors to overlook the presence of asbestos mesothelioma. Another factor that contributes to difficulties in diagnosis is the severe period of latency that symptoms have. From the time someone is exposed to asbestos for the first time, it can take as long as 50 years for symptoms to develop.

Symptoms of asbestosis start out mild and vague, eventually becoming more severe in time with the progression of the illness. Fibers of asbestos can remain inside the body for decades, causing slow cell damage that can result into the development of mesothelioma between 20 and 50 years after exposure. During the last stages of the latency period, the undetected asbestosis- mesothelioma may have worked its way to other parts in the body, although it remains that the most notable and common symptoms will be related directly to the tumor’s local effects. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of the disease.

Asbestos Mesothelioma

When it comes to screening for mesothelioma, there are no protocols that have been universally agreed upon just yet. However, whatever screening is available is still better than no screening at all because early diagnosis of asbestosis drastically improves the chances of a patient to survive. Osteopontin levels in the body may be helpful in screening people who may have been exposed to asbestos because 75% of patients diagnosed to have mesothelioma show elevated amounts of the mesothelin-related protein. As such, many doctors have begun screening using the Mesomark assay, a means of measuring osteopontin in the body.

As there are different kinds of mesothelioma, the symptoms each kind will manifest will mostly be associated with the locally affected area. For instance, pleural mesothelioma will usually show symptoms related to the respiratory system, such as pain in the chest wall, shortness of breath, coughs, wheezing, and blood in the sputum. Peritoneal mesothelioma, on the other hand, will have symptoms like bowel obstruction. More severe cases of asbestos mesothelioma will have symptoms like blood clotting in the veins, disseminated intravascular coagulation that leads to severe bleeding in body organs, jaundice, blood clotting in the lung arteries, and low blood sugar levels.

Because asbestos mesothelioma is generally diagnosed very late, prognosis remains to be disappointing although some improvements have been reported with the development of newer chemotherapy treatments. Some of the treatment options available for battling asbestos mesothelioma include: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, heated intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy, and multimodality therapy. Treatment options have a higher chance of working with early diagnosis.