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Treatment of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Currently, therapeutic approaches vary in each institution. Common methods include palliative surgery, systemic chemotherapy, intra-abdominal chemotherapy and surgery cytoreducing with preoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

The agents commonly used in chemotherapy regimens including various combinations of cisplatin, irinotecan, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, dacarbazine, gemcitabine and pemetrexed. Before 2003, most of the institutions relied on evidence from small phase II studies and patients treated with cisplatin and gemcitabine. This provided a median survival of 6-9 months. Since then, large trials have taken place and, more recently, has shown that the combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed leads to a median survival of 12-14 months. However, although encouraging, these results indicate that treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma with systemic chemotherapy still has a median survival of only 1 year. This is similar to what occurs in patients who are treated with a palliative approach. Therefore, their effectiveness as first line treatment is questionable. However, it is still a useful option for patients who are not appropriate surgical candidates.
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Diagnosis of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Friday, February 26th, 2010

The workup for a patient who is suspected of having peritoneal mesothelioma is similar to any other intra-abdominal cancer. The study includes a set of standard non-invasive tests such as routine laboratory tests, serum tumor markers and computed tomography (CT) scan of chest, abdomen and pelvis.

The routine laboratory tests are often not useful for diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma. Useful tumor markers for diagnosis and monitoring of peritoneal mesothelioma include CA 125 and CA 15-3. Among these, the CA 125, which is commonly elevated in cancers of the peritoneal surface and in the ovary, has proved the most useful, with a diagnostic sensitivity of 53.5%. The diagnostic sensitivity of CA 15-3 is usually high in breast cancer is 48.5% and is occasionally used in peritoneal mesothelioma. Other tumor markers such as CA 19-9 and CEA have virtually a role as tumor markers in peritoneal mesothelioma, the CA 19-9 is commonly elevated in gastric cancer and pancreatic (3.8%) and CEA in colorectal cancer (0%). However, they can be used to provide additional information when trying to exclude other tumors of gastric, pancreatic and colon. (more…)

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Clinical Presentation of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

The peritoneal mesothelioma patients tend to have a strong exposure to asbestos fibers into the air. The latent period between exposure to asbestos and the onset of the disease has an average of 20-30 years. This is shorter than for pleural mesothelioma, which has a latency period of 30-40 years. A study by the Washington Cancer Institute, a leader in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma, showed that patients typically present with either abdominal pain (33%) or increased abdominal girth (31%). Other symptoms include hernia ion in 12%, increased abdominal girth and pain at 5%, with the remaining 19% having a variety of other clinical symptoms such as anorexia, dispend, fever and abdominal tumor. Due to the heterogeneity of these clinical symptoms, patients often do not recognize their sinister nature until too late. In advanced stages, may experience acute problems, such as intestinal obstruction, perforation or severe as cites, requiring emergency surgery. Occasionally, however, the diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma is incidentally during abdominal palpation and /or pelvic or laparoscopy performed for another reason.
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Current Knowledge and Management of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Introduction

Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related tumor, rapidly progressive. This once rare tumor, is showing an increasing incidence worldwide according to extensive mining, whose peak was in the 1970s. At present, although asbestos-related activities have been restricted in most countries, the enormous historical production and use of asbestos in the form of various building materials and commercial products have resulted in millions of people exposed to asbestos with a proportion of them currently having asbestos-related diseases. In Canada, mineral exploration and export of asbestos to developing countries is still valid.

The diagnosis of mesothelioma occurs in the fourth to sixth decades of life. There is a preponderance to the male. It is believed that this is caused by occupational exposure to asbestos. In Canada, there is a growing trend in the number of men who receive diagnoses of mesothelioma every year. In 2003, there were 344 diagnoses registered a marked increase of the 153 recorded in 1984. A Scottish study reported that the cost of hospital care associated with treatment of 100 patients who died from asbestos-related mesothelioma in 2000, was £ 942,038. This is a huge figure for any health system.

Mesothelioma originates in the serous surfaces, mainly in the pleura (70%) and peritoneum (30%). Other rare locations include the tunica virginals testis and pericardium. This article focuses on current concepts about peritoneal mesothelioma and provides physicians with an improved understanding of this condition.
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Difficulty to Diagnose Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Difficulty to Diagnose Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Primary peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare malignancy that is related to previous exposure to asbestos, with an increased risk proportional to the duration and intensity of exposure. It is a tumor arising from serial surfaces: pleura 70%, peritoneum 25%, pericardium, 10% and testis. Peritoneal localization is associated in about half of cases with effusion. In recent years there has been an increasing number of cases, the highest incidence is between 50 and 70. The lag time is twenty to forty years, depending on time of exposure to asbestos fiber type and concentration and size. He also described a relationship with prior radiation therapy. We present a case of a patient with peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural unaffected, was a man of 66, who had transported asbestos (hydraulic brakes) twenty years earlier. The presenting complaint was abdominal pain and bloating. On ultrasound showed a fluid collection and as cites in small amounts. The suspected diagnosis was made on CT scan and confirmed after aspiration and laparotomy. Before beginning treatment the patient died of renal failure.
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Learn More About Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Peritoneal mesothelioma attacks the peritoneum, a tissue in the abdomen. This type of mesothelioma accounts for 10%, or up to 20% of all mesothelioma cases. It is different from the most common form of mesothelioma, which attacks the pleura, a garrison of tissue in the chest. The symptoms are different, and prognosis is also different. However, as with all types of mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma is often attributed to exposure to asbestos, the mineral carcinogen used widely in the years before stringent regulations were imposed in the 80s.

Case of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Between 100 and 500 cases of peritoneal mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States. Almost all individuals who are diagnosed with this cancer have a history of exposure to asbestos. In many cases, pleural mesothelioma (chest) may extend into the peritoneal cavity, but this still would be a diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma (which has metastasized), is not considered a case of peritoneal mesothelioma that begins in the peritoneum.
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In Cases of Mesothelioma Claims can be Made

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Asbestos is a hazardous substance has been widely used for years. It has really been used since ancient times, but it came widely used during the industrial revolution in countries like England and the United States. It has been used in a wide variety of industrial products due to its fire retardant properties. It has been used in roofing shingles and tiles, the brakes of vehicles, textiles, electrical insulation, insulation, construction and cement. Because of this many types of plant workers and their families and people who bought their products have been victims of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma. Like most people who contracted the deadly disease make informed choices through their workplace, many people have applied mesothelioma over the years.

Mesothelioma is a cancer that is both difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat. It often resembles other forms of cancers such as lung cancer.

It attacks the cells that line the walls of your internal organs, causes hardening and inhibits their functions. (more…)

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Primary Peritoneal Cancer Treatment

Friday, February 19th, 2010

A number of different types of treatments are used for the treatment of primary peritoneal cancer.

1. Surgery

You may be offered surgical removal of many cancers. This usually means the removal of the uterus, ovaries, fat in the skin of the abdomen (omentum), and much of the tumor as possible elsewhere.

2. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells. It works by destroying the growth and division of cancerous cells. Chemotherapy is often given after surgery if it was not possible to remove the tumor, or if there is a risk of some cancers in May left behind.
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Is Mesothelioma Treatment Provides Positive Results?

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

The success or failure of mesothelioma treatment depend mainly on the stage of cancer at the time of exposure. Several treatment methods, including traditional and modern are followed by doctors. Sometimes a combination of two or three conventional treatments, including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are used by physicians. Treatments to improve the lives of more than two thirds of the stage 1 and stage 2 patients five years or more. The surgery was done the same in about 16% of cases.

In surgery, the removal of cancerous tumor occurs through incisions. The extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), removes the envelope lung inside the chest, the hemi-diaphragm and pericardium. Decortication or pleurectomy surgery involves the removal of the pleura. It is the most common surgery among patients with mesothelioma.
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Lung Mesothelioma

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Lung Mesothelioma is a life-threatening medical condition resulting from infection of the mesothelium by asbestos fibers. This is a rare form of cancer that affects the people who had been in constant contact with asbestos, whether at home or workplace. Medical science describes the disease as a rare cancerous tumor affecting mesothelial tissue that surrounds our vital organs as a protective cover. Three different types of lung cancer, pleura, peritoneum and pericardium, have been identified and named after the regions they inhabit.

Mesothelium is a membranous sac located around the vital organs such as the abdomen, lungs and heart. The liner also helps indirectly the functioning of these bodies too. Asbestos particles, after entering and settling in the layers of mesothelium, the cause abnormal cell function resulting in cancerous tumors. In most cases of mesothelioma, cancer occurs only after decades of exposure to asbestos. This prolonged latency period of altering the diagnosis and timely treatment and limits the prospect of complete cure.
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