pericardial mesothelioma symptoms
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009Pericardial mesothelioma accounts for about half of all tumors of the pericardium is extremely rare. This cancer accounts for about 6% of cases of mesothelioma These tumors are usually diffuse and tend to cover the entire heart.
Pericardial mesothelioma affects the pericardium, the membrane is composed of mesothelial cells that surrounds and protects the heart. This membrane has two layers: A) an outer layer called the parietal pericardium B) an inner layer called visceral pericardium epicardium ()
Cause
Unlike in the case of pleural mesothelioma, there is no clear link between this cancer and exposure to asbestos fibers, but a number of Pericardial mesothelioma patients have a history of asbestos exposure.
Some schools of thought, I think is the inhalation of asbestos fibers in the lungs that travel through the blood from the lungs to the heart, although this theory is not supported by evidence.
When asbestos fibers heading into the pericardium, the body can not excrete asbestos fibers get stuck in the pericardium. These fibers over a long period of time because the pericardial cells to undergo changes that result in cancer transformation.
Cancer cells divide uncontrollably and eventually leads to thickening of the pericardial membrane ultimately resulting in the development of tumors. These changes lead to accumulation of fluid between the two layers which, combined with thickening of the layers the result of compression of the heart.
Symptoms
Most symptoms are caused by fluid buildup and thickening pericardial layer. Common symptoms are: A palpitations) pulse of the heart or irregular (arrhythmia) B) C chest pain) murmurs (abnormal heart sounds) D) Cough E), dyspnea (difficulty breathing) F) Fatigue H) Fever or night sweats I) orthopnea (difficulty breathing when lying down)
These symptoms are not specific to cancer, clinical diagnosis very difficult.
Diagnosis
After getting a clinical diagnosis of a series of tests can be done to locate and identify cancer cancer cells.
-MRI, Magnetic Resonance
This is useful for evaluate and determine the degree of development of cancer.
-Biopsy
This involves the removal of pericardial tissue or fluid for laboratory testing for confirm the presence of mesothelioma cells.
Chest X-ray
This helps to identify the tumor, there is a way characteristic of heart in X-ray film when there is a tumor of the pericardium.
-CT chest
This also helps to identify the tumor.
Treatment
Pericardial mesothelioma patients are generally not suitable for surgery, except in those rare cases where the cancer is diagnosed early and can perform surgery to remove small localized tumors.
This type of surgery is very risky because of the proximity of the heart.
Palliative treatment is often the only option for the treatment of pericardial mesothelioma, is run this type of treatment to improve the quality of life of patients and reduce the severity of symptoms caused by the accumulation of fluid in the pericardium.
Fine-needle aspiration can be done to drain fluid from around the heart. Radiotherapy can also be used to shrink the tumor to relieve symptoms caused by compression of the heart by fluid accumulation. The proximity of the heart and lungs, however, makes this a very risky procedure.
Forecast
The prognosis for this type of mesothelioma is very poor, 50 -60% of them died within 6 months of diagnosis. Occasionally a few patients survive longer after treatment with partial resection and radiotherapy.
About the Author:
Bello Kamorudeen is an health worker and author of several mesothelioma articles. For complete information on mesothelioma visit
http://www.mesotheliomacorner.blogspot.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Pericardial Mesothelioma – Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis
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