Mesothelioma 

Malin Dollinger, MD, and Ernest H. Rosenbaum, MD 

Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor in the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities. It is a rare form of cancer, with about 2,000 cases diagnosed in the United States each year. Most people who develop this cancer have a history of exposure to the widely found carcinogen asbestos.
    Malignant mesothelioma is usually not curable, although some surgical cures have been reported in a very few patients with very localized tumors. Most patients, however, have widespread disease at the time of diagnosis, with chest pain and a buildup of fluid within the cavity involved—chest or abdominal—that causes shortness of breath or abdominal swelling. Treatment at this stage, which may involve removing the fluid and the tumor, is usually directed toward relieving these symptoms.

Types  Malignant mesothelioma is a sarcoma that can have both fibrous and epithelial elements. Epithelial cancers that develop in the tissues that cover the surface or line internal organs are carcinomas, so the epithelial form of mesothelioma is sometimes confused with adenocarcinomas of the lung or metastatic carcinomas. Epithelial mesotheliomas seem to have a better prognosis than other types.