Did you know that asbestos dust can sometimes lead to an aggressive cancer?

Yes, what you just read is the truth asbestos dust can lead to aggressive cancer known as MESOTHELIOMA CANCER which may not be as popular as other cancers as it is a very rare disease. There hasn't been a cure for such kind of cancer yet as it is very rare and very aggressive as well. as it is such rare and aggressive disease research on such kind of cancers has also become very challenging.

Asbestos exposure is mostly found in nature as they are present in the dust particles of mines. these particles accumulate in the lungs or the stomach and get converted into mesothelioma which will be detected after 20-40 years. Mesothelioma has a very high specific tumour cell antigen.

INTRODUCTION:-

MESOTHELIOMA CANCER was first identified in Germany in 1977. But in general, the tumour in the lining of lungs was first identified in the year 1767. Tumour in the lining of the lungs is considered because "mesothelial cells" mostly affect the lining of the lungs. The word 'mesothelioma' was coined

by an English pathologist J.G.ADMANI in the year 1909.

Mesothelioma cancer is a "malignant" type which means it can spread to other organ or tissues of the body. It is an Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) as it leads to scarring or inflammation of the lungs.

In this type of cancer, tumours are mostly found in the pleura region (the layer which covers both lungs). Also, it is found in the peritoneum region (lining of the abdominal cavity). More than 80% of mesothelial cells are found in pleura.

Due to the high exposure to the asbestos (dust particles) which is the most significantly found in men than in women can cause this type of cancer. It mainly occurs in the pleura of the thoracic cavity.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF MESOTHELIOMA CANCER:-

It is classified into four types based on the tumour affecting area they are as follows:-

1. PLEURAL MESOTHELIOMA:-

It is a very common type but also very aggressive.
It affects the lining of the lungs.
It is asymptomatic at early stages, thus it is really hard to diagnose at the early stage of the effect.
70% of mesothelioma people are affected by pleural mesothelioma.
Only 8% of pleural mesothelioma survives for 3-5 years as most of them die in the span of 1 year to 18 months.

SYMPTOMS:-

A prolonged period of dry cough
Shortness of breath
Difficulty in swallowing
Prolonged chest pain
Fever
Night sweating
Fatigue (tiredness)

2. PERITONEAL MESOTHELIOMA:-

Mesothelial cells affect the lining of the abdomen which is the peritoneal layer (covering the abdomen).
Spreads to other parts of the body such as spleen, bowel, and liver.
10-20% of the people are affected by this type of mesothelioma.
Survival is for 10months or more.

SYMPTOMS:-

Abdominal pain
Patients can know that there is a build-up of fluid in the abdominal wall
Vomiting
Nausea
Difficulty in the passage of the stools
Fever
Swollen feet
weight loss
Fatigue
Diarrhoea

3. PERICARDIAL MESOTHELIOMA:-

Mesothelial cells affect the lining of the heart.
It is a very rare type of mesothelioma.
It is very aggressive.
Only 1% of people are affected by this type of mesothelioma.

SYMPTOMS:-

Difficulty in breathing
Chest pain
Nausea
Night sweating
Fever
Irregular heartbeat
Coughing
Fatigue
Treatment is done by giving painkillers usually.

4. TESTICULAR MESOTHELIOMA:-

It is the rarest form of all mesothelioma types.
Mesothelial cells affect the lining of testes (tunica vaginalis).
It only appears in men.
less than 1% of cases are testicular mesothelioma.
It is usually asymptomatic.
As it is very rare the symptoms of this mesothelioma are not yet discovered.
A person affected with such type may experience painless lumps on both testicles.
And may also experience swelling of the scrotum.
People who are close to patients should always be careful and always take safety measures.

DIAGNOSIS:-

For the diagnosis of mesothelioma in the body, some imaging tests are usually done to confirm it such as

X-rays
CT scans
MRIs:- This is done by using an electromagnetic technique.
PET scan:- This is a type of CT scan where the patients receive an intravenous dose of radioactive glucose, which makes the inflamed cells light-up which becomes easy to recognize. These cell inflammations can cause infections or rapid growth of cells which can lead to cancer.
Mesothelioma biopsies:- Only way to confirm a mesothelioma diagnosis. The most accurate biopsy is 'thoracoscopy'.

DETECTION:-

Detecting Mesothelial Precursor Cells (MPC) in the blood for the early-stage diagnosis and prognosis of mesothelioma is still a challenging task as it is a very rare disease.

TREATMENT/THERAPY:-

MPC is characterized by mesothelin+CD90+CD34 (CD- a cluster of differentiation, these are present on the cell surface which acts as a biomarker. These are very useful for identification and characterization of the leukocytes.) which could be involved in the development of mesothelioma after the exposure of asbestos.

With the help of radial therapy who can resist radiations can live up to 3-5 years, rather it was less than one year or one year of survival.

Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) is recommended is the selected patients (as this chemotherapy alone is not sufficient for the therapy).
Pemetrexed - based regimen with Cytoreductive Surgery (CRS), this is a standard of care in the limited tumour. The short term survival rate is common.
For patients who are not suitable for CRS and HIPEC has only treatment left i.e. Systemic chemotherapy, in this anti-cancer drug is injected through the vein or given orally.

SAFETY MEASURES/ PREVENTION:-

People who are miners, factory workers, insulation manufacturers, installers, railroad and automotive workers, shipbuilders, gas mask manufacturers, plumbers, drillers, and construction workers have a risk of getting exposed to asbestos.

Periodic examination of the workers, by biological monitoring (X-ray, CT scan, etc).
Use of a safer type of asbestos, such as chrysolite and amosite.
Substitution of insulant such as glass fibre, calcium silicate, plastic foams, mineral wool.

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