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Summary
The tissue that lines your lungs, stomach, heart, and other organs is called mesothelium. Mesothelioma, also known as malignant mesothelioma, is cancer of that tissue. It usually starts in the lungs, but can also start in the abdomen or other organs.
Malignant mesothelioma is rare but serious. Most people who get it have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. After being exposed to asbestos, it usually takes a long time for the disease to form.
Symptoms include:
- Trouble breathing
- Pain under the rib cage
- Pain, swelling, or lumps in the abdomen
- Weight loss for no known reason
Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer. Your doctor uses imaging tests and a biopsy to make the diagnosis. Malignant mesothelioma is often found when it is advanced. This makes it harder to treat. Treatment may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and/or targeted therapy. Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Diagnosis and Tests
- How Is Malignant Mesothelioma Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society)
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Stages of Malignant Mesothelioma
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Can Malignant Mesothelioma Be Found Early? (American Cancer Society)
- Do We Know What Causes Malignant Mesothelioma? (American Cancer Society)
Treatments and Therapies
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Drugs Approved for Malignant Mesothelioma
(National Cancer Institute)
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Treatment Option Overview (Malignant Mesothelioma)
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
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Treatment Options for Malignant Mesothelioma
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
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Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
- What Are the Key Statistics about Malignant Mesothelioma? (American Cancer Society)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Mesothelioma
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Occupational Mortality Matrix: A Tool for Epidemiological Assessment of Work-Related Risk...
- Article: Frequency of Asbestos Exposure and Histological Subtype of Ovarian Carcinoma.
- Article: Development of a quantitative methylation-specific droplet digital PCR assay for detecting...
- Mesothelioma -- see more articles
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Children
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Childhood Mesothelioma Treatment
(National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Malignant mesothelioma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Solitary fibrous tumor (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish