Diagnosing Mesothelioma

Being a rare form of cancer, Mesothelioma cannot be easily diagnosed. Because of its symptoms which resemble those of common ailments and diseases, mesothelioma is not readily recognized and most of the time, doctors are also not familiar with the disease. Another reason for difficulty in diagnosis of this cancer is its long latency period. The symptoms take around 20-50 years to appear. By the time they appear and the patient goes to the doctor for problems s/he is having, they forget to mention they have had exposure to asbestos in the past.

In most of the cases, by the time proper tests were run and the patient was diagnosed with mesothelioma, it was too late to do anything worthwhile and save the patients’ life.

Mesothelioma attacks the human body in 3 areas. It may attack either the lining of the lungs, chest or the abdominal cavity unleashing different sets of symptoms in each case of mesothelioma.

Some Steps of Diagnosing Mesothelioma

When you go for the checkup, make sure that you inform your doctor about your medical history and all the symptoms you have been facing. This helps in prompt diagnosis of the disease. Symptoms of mesothelioma like stomach aches, weight loss, nausea, vomiting and cough resemble those of common cold and flu.

If any of these symptoms are evident in you and you also have a history of exposure to asbestos, you should immediately see a doctor and describe all your symptoms in detail. Your doctor may run these tests to diagnose if you have mesothelioma:

Complete Physical Examination

The doctor may conduct a complete physical examination and check for any swelling or unusual occurrences in the body. In case of breathing problems, your doctor may listen for any breathing abnormalities and take note of the cough pattern.

Patient’s Medical History

The doctor will collect patient’s medical history that will give him an insight into the patient’s past and give any hint about asbestos exposure. If the patient has worked in any asbestos related industry, the doctor will be able to find out the link and make correct diagnosis.

X-rays and Scans

Mesothelioma can also be diagnosed with the help of a chest or abdomen X-ray. A CT scan or an MRI scan may also be taken if necessary. These scans and X-rays help in delivering a picture of the affected place with the cancerous cells and tumors that helps the doctor in diagnosing the disease.

Biopsy

If any of the above mentioned tests indicate the presence of mesothelioma, a biopsy is carried out to confirm the diagnosis. Biopsy can be of many kinds. A doctor may insert a needle into the affected area and get a sample of the infected tissues.

In some cases, because the test is not 100% reliable, a doctor may also recommend open pleural biopsy. In this kind, a small incision is made in the chest wall and a thin light tube is inserted between two ribs. A part of affected tissue is removed and checked under microscope for mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Diagnostic Tests

• Bronchoscopy or a mediastinoscopy are the two tests in which a doctor can look at the affected area with the help of a light-inserted tube.
• With the help of Cytology, the doctor can check the pleural fluid for cancerous cells.
• Thoracoscopy or a laparoscopy is the authentic diagnostic test to check presence of mesothelioma in pleural or peritoneal biopsy respectively.
• PET scan is another test which can help the doctor in diagnosing the stage of mesothelioma or the extent of disease in the body.

All these diagnostics tests are as reliable as they can get. However, none of them give accurate results shows 100% presence of mesothelioma. Due to these reasons, doctors conduct more than one test to make certain the patient is suffering from mesothelioma before starting any treatment.

Mesothelioma Risk Factors

Risk factors are the most important elements which are looked into when a disease is studied in detail. Risk factors are essential to know when a disease is being diagnosed in a person as they help locate a disease if the patient has been suffering from a set of symptoms and in studying the causes of these symptoms.

In short, risk factors increase your chances of diagnosing any disease following exposure or contact with any harmful agents. As with any other disease, risk factors are also taken into consideration when mesothelioma is diagnosed in a person.

Risk Factors for Mesothelioma

It is a proven fact that the biggest risk factor for mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos, a naturally occurring fibrous mineral. It has been established that previous exposure which took place 20-50 years back could eventually cause mesothelioma. Even short term exposure to low doses of asbestos can lead to mesothelioma. Here we have discussed all the mesothelioma risk factors in detail which will give you an insight how this deadly cancer is contracted.

Asbestos

Asbestos exposure is the main risk factor for developing mesothelioma. Asbestos belongs to a family of fibrous minerals made of silicate. Its usage was very common in numerous products like insulation, floor tiles, door gaskets, soundproofing, roofing, patching compounds, fireproof gloves and ironing board covers and even brake pads due to its fire retardation properties. It was found that people working in asbestos industry developed mesothelioma by inhaling asbestos. Asbestos particles settle in the lining of the lungs, chest and abdominal cavity and cause cancer.

Mesothelioma can occur in any person who has been directly or indirectly exposed to asbestos regardless of trade, age, sex or race. Even people who inhale asbestos particles from the clothing or other items of affected people can get mesothelioma.

However, with recent studies, it has come to light, that it is not solely asbestos exposure which is a risk factor for mesothelioma. There are some other risk factors for mesothelioma too.

Radiation and Mesothelioma

It was found that some of the cases of peritoneal and pleural mesothelioma were also caused by exposure to thorium dioxide (Thorotrast). Thorium dioxide was used in certain kinds of X-rays in the past. However, since it was known that it is a risk factor for mesothelioma, its use was banned.

Zeolite

Zeolite is naturally occurring asbestos like mineral. Zeolite is mostly found in the soil of Anatolia (the Asian region of Turkey) as it was determined after numerous mesothelioma cases were detected in Turkey.

Tobacco as a Risk Factor for Mesothelioma

Although, no direct link between tobacco and mesothelioma has been established, yet it has been found that a combination of smoking tobacco and inhaling asbestos can be a huge mesothelioma risk factor. It was found that people who worked in asbestos industry and also smoked were 50 to 90 times more likely to develop pleural mesothelioma or lung cancer. Also, according to researches, more asbestos workers are known to die of lung cancer rather than mesothelioma.

SV40 Virus

Simian Virus 40, also known as SV40 is considered as a mesothelioma risk factor. Some polio vaccine injections were found to be contaminated with SV40 during 1955 and 1963. It was found that around 10 to 30 million people were exposed to this virus.

Another thing which came to be known was that SV40 virus does not cause mesothelioma unless the patient is also exposed to asbestos. However, nothing has been proved yet and studies are still underway to determine the link between SV40 and mesothelioma.

In spite of all these risk factors, asbestos remains the main risk factor for mesothelioma. As the link between asbestos and mesothelioma was established, the use of asbestos has been banned in US since 1989. However, it is still used in some products and several cases of mesothelioma are still under study to determine the various risk factors.