Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor in the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities. It is a rare form of cancer, with about 3,500 cases diagnosed in the United States each year. Most people who develop this cancer have a history of exposure to the widely found carcinogen asbestos.

Malignant mesothelioma is usually not curable, although some surgical cures have been reported in a very few patients with very localized tumors. Most patients, however, have widespread disease at the time of diagnosis, with chest pain and a buildup of fluid within the cavity involved-chest or abdominal-that causes shortness of breath or abdominal swelling. Treatment at this stage, which may involve removing the fluid and the tumor, is usually directed toward relieving these symptoms.

Types
Malignant mesothelioma is a tumor that can have fibrous and epithelial elements. Epithelial cancers that develop in the tissues that cover the surface of or line internal organs are carcinomas, so the epithelial form of mesothelioma is sometimes confused with adenocarcinomas of the lung or metastatic carcinomas. Epithelial mesotheliomas seem to have a better prognosis than other types.

How It Spreads
Mesotheliomas start in the membranes lining the chest or in the membranes of the abdominal cavity. They can spread via the lymphatic channels to the lymph nodes of the middle of the chest. They can also spread via the bloodstream within and beyond the cavity of origin and metastasize to other organs such as the lungs and chest wall and to abdominal organs such as the bowel.

What Causes Mesothelioma
Inhalation of asbestos fibers is a primary cause. About 70,000 tons of asbestos is used in the United States each year, in cement, brake linings, roof shingles, insulation, flooring products and packing materials. Asbestos has also been found as a contaminant in talc, which is also associated with ovarian cancer. Many urban water reservoirs contain asbestos-like fibers, and most public and private buildings contain asbestos. Only recently has the strong association between asbestos exposure and malignancy been recognized and appropriate industrial and health standards for exposure been put into effect.

It is sometimes difficult to prove the relationship between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma. The risk of developing the disease begins about fifteen years after the first exposure and increases each year up to forty to forty-five years after the first exposure. It is estimated that about 8 million people living in the United States have been occupationally exposed to asbestos over the last half century during the mining and milling of the mineral and during various manufacturing processes. It has been estimated that there will be 250,000 cases of mesothelioma in the United States and United Kingdom by the year 2025.

1. FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality–United States, 1999-2005 (Journal of the American Medical Association) - JAMA. 2009;302(1):25-26. Malignant mesothelioma is a fatal cancer primarily associated with exposure to asbestos.
2. Crews testing yards for asbestos fibers near former Grace factory in Spokane (Missoulian) - SPOKANE - Crews are testing residential yards near W.R. Grace & Co.’s former insulation factory in Spokane for asbestos fibers that can cause cancer. The work was prompted by the recent declaration of Libby as a public health emergency.
3. EPA Testing for Asbestos Near Former Spokane Factory (Flathead Beacon) - SPOKANE, Wash. – Crews are testing residential yards near W.R. Grace & Co.’s former insulation factory in Spokane for asbestos fibers that can cause cancer. The work was prompted by the recent declaration of Libby, Mont., as a public health emergency. For 22 years, Vermiculite Northwest produced Zonolite, an asbestos-tainted attic insulation. Rail cars brought vermiculite ore from Libby to the …
4. W. Central yards retested for asbestos - Wed, 01 Jul 2009 PST (The Spokesman-Review) - Yards near W.R. Grace’s former Zonolite factory in Spokane are being retested for asbestos with new technology that can detect the cancer-causing fibers at ever lower levels. For Kandi Smith, that meant watching two men in white hazmat suits and respirators dig 30 soil samples from her lawn Tuesday morning. Cars driving past the house slowed, as drivers gawked at the scene.
5. EPA retests Spokane yards for asbestos - Tue, 30 Jun 2009 PST (The Spokesman-Review) - Yards near W.R. Grace’s former Zonolite factory in Spokane are being retested for asbestos with new technology that can detect the cancer-causing fibers at ever lower levels.
6. ‘Safe use’ of asbestos is a myth (The Manila Times) - The threat of Influenza A(H1N1) in the workplace and elsewhere has caught the attention of everyone. Unremarked by the media, the threat of asbestos diseases puts workers, their families and the public in a similar if not more serious situation.
7. EPA testing yards near former Spokane factory (Seattle Times) - Crews are testing residential yards near W.R. Grace & Co.’s former insulation factory in Spokane for asbestos fibers that can cause cancer. The work was prompted by the recent declaration of Libby, Mont., as a public health emergency.
8. Budget contains asbestos language that helps Crown (La Crosse Tribune) - The two-year state budget signed Monday by Gov. Jim Doyle contains a provision limiting plaintiffs’ ability to sue companies that before 1972 merged with smaller firms that had made asbestos.
9. JapanToday: Japan News and Discussion ジャパントゥデイ:日本のニュースを英語で読む (Japan Today) - A labor ministry survey showed Monday that 1,063 people were eligible for workers’ compensation as sufferers of asbestos-linked diseases such as mesothelioma in fiscal 2008 as they were affected by asbestos while working.
10. Attic Insulation May Contain Deadly Asbestos, Cautions N.Y. Lawyer (PRWeb via Yahoo! News) - Joseph W. Belluck, a partner at the New York law firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP, says asbestos-contaminated vermiculite in millions of homes and businesses underscores the need for caution.

Cancer, epithelial cancers, malignant mesothelioma, malignant tumor metastatic carcinomas

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