Peritoneal mesothelioma is a disease that affects the lining of the abdomen. It is a general misconception that mesothelioma is a primarily a lung cancer but it is not like that, but mesothelioma is a cancer of serous membrane. These membranes enclose many organs inside the body. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of mesothelioma which affects the serous membrane of the lungs.
Peritoneal mesothelioma is the second most common mesothelioma. When peritoneal mesothelioma spread to the lungs, it is considered as secondary lung cancer. Out of all mesothelioma percentage of peritoneal mesothelioma is 20%. Asbestos exposure is the main and only cause of the peritoneal mesothelioma.
Cause of peritoneal mesothelioma: For peritoneal mesothelioma, it is not clearly understood how the asbestos fibers become lodged in the abdomen's peritoneum lining. It is possible that asbestos fibers, after being broken into smaller pieces in the lungs, are carried from the lungs into the blood stream, and lodge from the blood stream in the abdomen lining. A more probable cause is that asbestos fibers were ingested with food or drink. Most asbestos mining or processing facilities had constant clouds of asbestos fibers. These fibers could have settled on the food of the workers. Also, it is well established that many of the workers' clothing became infiltrated with asbestos dust. This dust could have contaminated the kitchens of the workers as they arrived home with the dirty clothing. Once lodged in the peritoneum, the chronic inflammation process leading to cancerous growths is similar to that occurring in pleural mesothelioma.
Symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma: Once the cancerous tumors start to grow in the peritoneum, fluid begins to rapidly accumulate in the abdominal area. This fluid causes swelling and discomfort and leads to the first common symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma: ever, weight loss, fatigue, and anemia and digestive disturbances upper abdominal pain. Less common symptoms include cough and shortness of breath.
Diagnosis: CT findings may help differentiate between the two clinical types of peritoneal mesothelioma, termed “dry” or “wet”, since their appearances are very different upon imaging. In the “dry” type, CT may reveal multiple small masses or a single dominant localized mass. There is normally little or no ascites. In the “wet” type, CT may reveal widespread small nodules, but no dominant mass. Ascites is usually present.
Treatment: In recent years, multimodality treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma has become more common for a select patient population, since surgery alone and/or intraperitoneal chemotherapy alone has proven to be similarly ineffective. Cytoreductive surgery involves the removal of all or nearly all visible tumor.