Mesothelioma natural history: Difference between revisions
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==Complications== | ==Complications== | ||
Common complications of pleural mesothelioma include:<ref name=complicationpleuralmesothelioma1>Complications of mesothelioma. Mayo clinic 2016. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mesothelioma/basics/complications/con-20026157. Accessed on February 13, 2016</ref> | Common complications of pleural mesothelioma include:<ref name=complicationpleuralmesothelioma1>Complications of mesothelioma. Mayo clinic 2016. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mesothelioma/basics/complications/con-20026157. Accessed on February 13, 2016</ref> | ||
* | *[[dysphagia|Difficulty swallowing]] | ||
*[[Pain]] caused by pressure on the nerves and spinal cord | *[[Pain]] caused by pressure on the nerves and spinal cord | ||
*[[Pleural effusion]] | *[[Pleural effusion]] | ||
Revision as of 17:05, 12 February 2016
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Mesothelioma Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Mesothelioma natural history On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Mesothelioma natural history |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Mesothelioma natural history |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Parminder Dhingra, M.D. [2], Sujit Routray, M.D. [3]
Overview
Natural History
- Malignant mesothelioma is usually an aggressive disease.[1]
- The exposure to the asbestos that cause mesothelioma occurrs 25-40 years to appear.
Complications
Common complications of pleural mesothelioma include:[2]
- Difficulty swallowing
- Pain caused by pressure on the nerves and spinal cord
- Pleural effusion
- Blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs
- Pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
- Severe ascites
Prognosis
- The prognostic factors for mesothelioma include:[3]
- Cell subtype: Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common subtype of mesothelioma and has a better prognosis than sarcomatoid or mixed (biphasic) types. Sarcomatoid subtype has the least favorable prognosis.
- Location of mesothelioma: Pericardial mesothelioma is usually associated with a poorer prognosis than the other types of mesothelioma.
- Surgical removal: Mesothelioma that can be resected has a more favorable prognosis than mesothelioma that has spread too far and is unresectable. Clear surgical margins improve prognosis. Mesothelioma is often a diffuse disease and doesn’t stay localized. This makes it difficult to get clear surgical margins.
- Stage: Stage plays a role in prognosis for people who have surgery. The stage of mesothelioma does not impact survival for people who do not have surgery. Generally, early stage mesothelioma has a better prognosis than more advanced stages. If mesothelioma has spread to the lymph nodes, it is usually associated with a less favorable prognosis.
- Symptoms: The presence of chest pain with pleural mesothelioma or excessive weight loss is associated with a poorer prognosis. Chest pain suggests there may advanced disease that is unresectable.
- Thrombocytosis: Thrombocytosis is associated with a poorer prognosis.
- Leukocytosis: Leukocytosis is associated with a poorer prognosis.
- Performance status: People with a good performance status have a better prognosis than those with a poor performance status.
- Age: Younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
- Sex: Females seem to have a better prognosis than men.
- Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level: People with increased LDH blood levels tend to have a less favorable prognosis than those with normal LDH levels. LDH is an enzyme in the blood that can be increased when there is damage to certain tissue or cancer.
- Mesothelioma occurring in germline BAP1 mutation carriers have been reported to be less aggressive clinically and associated with prolonged survival compared with sporadic mesothelioma.[4]
- 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.
As discussed earlier, the prognosis of mesothelioma depends on the cell subtype. The median survival time of various subtypes of mesothelioma are tabulated below.[1]
| Location of mesothelioma | Approximate median survival |
|---|---|
| Pleural | 4-18 months |
| Peritoneal | 5-12 months |
| Pericardial | 6 months |
| Tunica vaginalis testis | 23 months |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Survival statistics for mesothelioma. Canadian cancer society 2016. http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/mesothelioma/prognosis-and-survival/survival-statistics/?region=on. Accessed on February 10, 2016
- ↑ Complications of mesothelioma. Mayo clinic 2016. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mesothelioma/basics/complications/con-20026157. Accessed on February 13, 2016
- ↑ Prognosis and survival for mesothelioma. Cancer canadian society 2016. http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/mesothelioma/prognosis-and-survival/?region=on. Accessed on February 8, 2016
- ↑ Thomas, Anish; Chen, Yuanbin; Yu, Tinghui; Gill, Ammara; Prasad, Vinay (2015). "Distinctive clinical characteristics of malignant mesothelioma in young patients". Oncotarget. 6 (18): 16766–16773. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.4414. ISSN 1949-2553.