The Stages Of Pleural Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer  that affects the mesothelial tissues of some organs of the body such as the lungs which is called pleural mesothelioma. On the other hand, the mesothelioma cancer in the abdomen is medically termed as peritoneal mesothelioma and in the heart it is known as pericardial mesothelioma.The mesothelium is the layer of cells that line the covering of internal organs and body cavities.

This type of cancer is almost exclusively associated with exposure to asbestos dust or fibres.The unfortunate aspect of mesothelioma is that it is rarely diagnosed on time and takes a long time from exposure to asbestos to development of the disease. This can take from ten to fifty years or longer.The treatment options depend on the stage at which it is diagnosed. 

Stages of Pleural Mesothelioma

Cancer staging refers to the extent of the cancer cells. The higher the stage, the poor the prognosis is. Staging is based on the size of the tumour(primary mass),how far it has spread(metastasis) and involvement of the lymph nodes.Treatment options and management of pleural mesothelioma depends on the stage at which it is diagnosed.

Stage 1. This is the earliest stage of pleural mesothelioma. The cancer is localized on one side of the chest,left or right.It may have spread to the lung,the pericardium or diaphragm on the same side.There is no involvement of lymph nodes at this stage.Treatment involves surgery to remove the tumours and a small amount of surrounding tissue.This is followed by chemotherapy and/or radiation to kill off any remaining cancer cells.Prognosis for stage 1 is good.

Stage 2. In this stage,the cancer has spread from its point of origin to affect the pleural membrane on the other side of the chest.It may have affected the other lung,the heart covering or the diaphragm.Lymph nodes may have become involved.Treatment options include surgery to remove tumours and affected lymph nodes depending on the size and location and the extent of involvement of nearby organs.This is followed by radiation or chemotherapy to kill the remaining cancer cells.Prognosis is not as good as in stage 1.

Stage 3. During this stage, the cancer has spread to multiple locations within the chest.Organs such as both lungs,the heart,ribs,oesophagus,diaphragm, including lymph nodes are affected.Treatment options are limited at this stage.Surgery is only considered if the patient is sufficiently healthy enough to withstand the physical strain associated with such extensive surgeries.Large tumour masses are removed to ease the pressure on nearby organs.Treatments are generally palliative.Thoracentesis is used to drain fluid built up in the chest.Chemotherapy and radiation may be employed to shrink tumours and provide symptomatic relief.Prognosis is poor.

Stage 4. This is the end stage of the disease. The cancer has penetrated deeply into nearby organs and the tumours are large.Spread has occurred to other parts of the body.Surgery cannot be performed at this stage.Treatments are palliative such as thoracentesis to drain fluid from the chest cavity to ease pain and discomfort.Chemotherapy and radiation may be used to shrink tumours to provide some relief.Prognosis is very poor.

Those are the four stages of pleural mesothelioma. So if you think you have been long exposed to asbestos, visit your doctor right away and get checked because the earlier pleural mesothelioma is detected,the better it can be handled and the greater the chances of survival.