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• Mesothelioma
  Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers most of the body’s internal organs. Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles.
  
  
• Mesothelioma Signs and symptoms
  Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.
  
  
• How is mesothelioma diagnosed
  Diagnosing mesothelioma is often difficult, because the symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions. Diagnosis begins with a review of the patient's medical history.
  
  
• Screening
  There is no universally agreed protocol for screening people who have been exposed to asbestos.
  
  
• Staging
  Mesothelioma is described as localized if the cancer is found only on the membrane surface where it originated.
  
  
• Pathophysiology
  The mesothelium consists of a single layer of flattened to cuboidal cells forming the epithelial lining of the serous cavities of the body including the peritoneal, pericardial and pleural cavities.
  
  
• Incidence
  Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer.
  
  
• Risk factors
  Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure exists in almost all cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos.
  
  
• Exposure
  Asbestos was known in antiquity, but it wasn't mined and widely used commercially until the late 1800s. Its use greatly increased during World War II. Since the early 1940s, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos dust. Initially, the risks associated with asbestos exposure were not publicly known.
  
  
• Occupational
  Exposure to asbestos fibres has been recognised as an occupational health hazard since the early 1900s.
  
  
• Paraoccupational Secondary Exposure
  Family members and others living with asbestos workers have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, and possibly other asbestos related diseases.
  
  
• Asbestos in buildings
  Many building materials used in both public and domestic premises prior to the banning of asbestos may contain asbestos
  
  
• Environmental Exposure
  Incidence of mesothelioma had been found to be higher in populations living near Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA).
  
  
• Treatment
  Treatment of MM using conventional therapies has not proved successful and patients have a median survival time of 6 - 12 months after presentation
  
  
• Surgery
  Surgery, either by itself or used in combination with pre- and post-operative adjuvant therapies, has proved disappointing. A pleurectomy/decortication is the most common surgery, in which the lining of the chest is removed.
  
  
• Radiation
  For patients with localized disease, and who can tolerate a radical surgery, radiation is often given post-operatively as a consolidative treatment. The entire hemi-thorax is treated with radiation therapy, often given simultaneously with chemotherapy.
  
  
• Chemotherapy
  In February 2004, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved pemetrexed (brand name Alimta) for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pemetrexed is given in combination with cisplatin. Folic acid is also used to reduce the side-effects of pemetrexed.
  
  
• Immunotherapy
  Treatment regimens involving immunotherapy have yielded variable results. For example, intrapleural inoculation of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in an attempt to boost the immune response, was found to be of no benefit to the patient (while it may benefit patients with bladder cancer).
  
  
• Heated Intraoperative Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy
  Heated Intraoperative Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy . A procedure known as heated intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy was developed by Paul Sugarbaker at the Washington Cancer Institute.
  
  
• Prevention and Expectations
  Prevention and Expectations . What can be done to prevent the disease?
  
  
• What are the long-term effects of the disease
  What are the long-term effects of the disease . A mesothelioma is a highly aggressive tumor that is generally deadly.
  
  
• What are the risks to others
  What are the risks to others ??? Mesothelioma is not contagious and cannot be passed from one person to another.
  
  
• What happens once treatment is over
  What happens once treatment is over ??? Although mesothelioma is very unpleasant it's still important for person after treatment is over to keep up all follow-up appointments and that's vital because further testing is always needed to check whether cancer is coming back or to examine possible side effects that could be rather unpleasant and what's even worse permanent.
  
  
• Notable people that died from mesothelioma
  Notable people that died from mesothelioma . Mesothelioma, though rare, has had a number of notable patients.
  
  
• Notable people that have lived for some time with mesothelioma
  Notable people that have lived for some time with mesothelioma . Although life expectancy with this disease is typically limited, there are notable survivors.