Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is a malignant cancer that develops on the lining of the lungs called the pleura. It is the most common type of mesothelioma. Although the prognosis is typically poor, finding a pleural cancer specialist can increase your treatment options and help improve your survival rate.

Pleural mesothelioma accounts for about 75 percent of all diagnosed cases. Like other types of mesothelioma, this particular form of the disease gets its name because of where it is formed – in the pleura, a soft tissue that surrounds the lungs. In almost all cases, pleural mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure.
The first symptoms of pleural mesothelioma typically include a persistent cough and shortness of breath. You may experience no symptoms at all.
The life expectancy of someone with pleural mesothelioma is less than 18 months, but some patients live much longer. It often takes decades (20 to 50 years) for mesothelioma to develop after someone is first exposed to asbestos. This lag time – called a latency period – explains why the disease usually affects older people.

How Asbestos Leads to Mesothelioma

Once inhaled into the lungs, asbestos travels to the pleura. The body then struggles to get rid of the needle-like fibers. Over a long period of time, trapped fibers irritate the pleural membrane, causing chronic inflammation and scarring.

Odds of Development

In 2 to 10 percent of people heavily exposed to asbestos, the trapped fibers cause pleural mesothelioma by triggering genetic changes in cells that make up the pleura. These cancerous cells grow fast and uncontrollably, forming tumors that wrap around the lungs.

What are Pleural Mesothelioma Symptoms?

Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include persistent dry or raspy cough, coughing up blood (hemoptysis), shortness of breath (dyspnea), and difficulty swallowing (dysphagia). There are four stages of mesothelioma that doctors use to describe how far the cancer has progressed. For many people, unfortunately, symptoms are not noticeable until the cancer is in a later stage — Stage III or IV.

Asbestos fibers can cause excess fluid to build up between the two layers of the pleura, a condition called pleural effusion. While a little fluid in your pleural space is important, too much can make breathing difficult. The extra fluid puts pressure on the lungs, causing chest pain that gets worse when you cough or take deep breaths.