Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that develops from a protective layer that covers a lot of organs, the mesothelium. Mesothelioma usually caused by asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma is often found in the pleura (the outer layer of the lungs and internal chest wall), but there are some cases occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart) or tunica vaginalis (the sac that surrounds the testicles).
Most people with mesothelioma are those who work and have been accustomed to inhaling asbestos and glass particles, or they have inhaled asbestos dust and fibers in other ways.
Washing clothes of family members whose jobs are directly related to asbestos or glass can increase the risk of someone contracting mesothelioma. Unlike lung cancer, no association between mesothelioma and smoking.
Those who have been exposed to asbestos exposure will have other health problems associated with diseases caused by asbestos, including mesothelioma. Is an important issue in the legal practice of mesothelioma is compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits.
The symptoms of a person specially contracted mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest pain, and other common symptoms such as weight loss. Diagnosis using chest X-ray and CT scan, and confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic.
A thoracoscopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. This allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents fluid and pressure mengumpulnya lungs.
Sometimes the ways of treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery, will bring a more severe impact. The experts conducting research on screening tests for early detection of mesothelioma is still ongoing.
Working with asbestos is the major factor in mesothelioma. In the United States, asbestos is the major cause of malignant mesothelioma and has been deemed "doubtful" associated with the development of mesothelioma. Indeed, the relationship between asbestos and mesothelioma is so strong that many consider mesothelioma "signal" or "sentinel" tumor. The history of asbestos exposure in most cases.
However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos. In rare cases, mesothelioma has also been associated with irradiation, intrapleural thorium dioxide (Thorotrast), and inhaling other fibrous silicates, such as erionite. Several studies have shown that the simian virus 40 (SV40) may act as a cofactor in the development of mesothelioma.
Asbestos was known in antiquity, but it was not mined and widely used commercially until the late 19th century. Its use greatly increased during World War II. Since the early 1940s, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos dust. Initially, the risks associated with exposure to asbestos is not publicly known.
However, an increased risk of developing mesothelioma was later found among shipyard workers, people who work in asbestos mines and mills, producers of asbestos products, workers in the heating and construction industries, and other traders.
Currently, the official position of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and U.S. EPA is that the protection and the "permissible exposure limits" required by regulations of the United States, while adequate to prevent most of the asbestos-related non-malignant disease, they are inadequate to prevent or protect against asbestos-related cancers such as mesothelioma.
Likewise, the Government Health and Safety Executive UK (HSE) states formally that any threshold for mesothelioma must be at a very low level and it is widely agreed that if there is no threshold at all, then it can not currently be measured. For practical purposes, therefore, HSE assumes that there is no such "safe" threshold exists.
Others have also noted that there was no evidence of a threshold level below which there is no risk of mesothelioma. There seems to be a linear, dose-response relationship, with increasing doses of disease produces increased. However, mesothelioma may be associated with a short, low-level or direct exposure to asbestos.
Doses required for the effect seems to be lower for asbestos induced mesothelioma than pulmonary asbestosis or lung cancer. Again, there is no known safe level of asbestos exposure is associated with an increased risk of mesothelioma.
The duration of exposure to asbestos to cause mesothelioma is very short. For example, the case of mesothelioma was recorded, in just 1-3 months after exposure to asbestos a person will contract the disease. Using safety equipment such as masks, eye protectors can reduce the risk of exposure.
Original Source: wikipedia.org
