Pleural Effusions

Mesothelioma, namely malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many internal organs of the body, the mesothelium. This is usually caused by exposure to asbestos.
Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), heart, pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis.
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they were exposed to asbestos dust and fibers in other ways. He also suggested that washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos can put people at risk for developing mesothelioma. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking, but smoking greatly increases the risk of other asbestos-induced cancer. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma (see asbestos and the law).
Symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as loss težine.Dijagnoza may be suspected in the chest X-ray and CT scan, and confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic pregled.Thoracoscopy (insertion tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to biopsy. This allows the introduction of substances such as talc to destroy the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lungs. Despite chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing.