Mesothelioma Treatment

Pleural mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops in the lung’s outer linings – the pleura.

Your mesothelium is a large covering of tissue that protects a number of your body’s organs in both your abdominal cavity and your chest cavity. Your pleura is the two-layered membrane surrounding your lungs.

The inner layer of the pleura surrounds your lungs. The outer layer connects to the wall of your chest. The small space between the two is the pleural area.

Approximately 70% of all cases of malignant mesothelioma are pleural mesothelioma.

Diagnosis of mesothelioma can change the entire life of patients and their families in a moment. A cure for mesothelioma has not yet been discovered. What causes development of this aggressive cancer? Medical personnel and mesothelioma lawyers frequently point to asbestos exposure. More than 70 percent of mesothelioma cases occur within patients who have had exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is used in variety of manufacturing industries, leaving a large work force vulnerable to a potentially harmful substance and the possibility of contracting cancer.

Mesothelioma cancer begins in the membrane lining which surrounds organs in the human body. Symptoms of this deadly disease sometimes lay dormant for decades. Given that lapse in time, efforts to receive financial compensation may be difficult. Mesothelioma lawyers are familiar with the variables in such cases and can be quite valuable to patients and their families. Respected mesothelioma lawyers will provide information regarding legal measures available to victims; they will also handle all the legal processes and argue cases in a professional and successful manner.

Another interesting study is called, “Utility of D2-40, a novel mesothelial marker, in the diagnosis of malignant Mesothelioma” by Albert Y Chu, Leslie A Litzky, Theresa L Pasha, Geza Acs and Paul J Zhang – Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA – Modern Pathology (2005) 18, 105–110.  Here is an excerpt: “Abstract – Although immunohistochemistry has proven to be valuable in the differentiation of epithelioid mesothelioma from pulmonary or metastatic adenocarcinoma, no single antibody has demonstrated absolute sensitivity or specificity in making this distinction. Using immunohistochemical analysis with D2-40, a recently available monoclonal antibody that has been used as a lymphatic endothelial marker, we examined 53 cases of mesothelioma, 28 cases of reactive pleura, 30 cases of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, 35 cases of renal cell carcinoma, 26 cases of ovarian serous carcinoma, 16 cases of invasive breast carcinoma, 11 cases of prostatic adenocarcinoma, and seven cases of urothelial carcinoma.

In addition, immunohistochemistry using calretinin, cytokeratin 5/6, and WT1 was performed on all cases of mesothelioma, pulmonary adenocarcinoma, ovarian serous carcinoma, and renal cell carcinoma. Predominantly, membranous D2-40 immunoreactivity was present in 51 of 53 (96%) mesotheliomas, 27 of 28 (96%) cases of reactive pleura, and 17 of 26 (65%) ovarian serous carcinomas; membranous staining was not seen in any other tumors examined. Compared to other immunohistochemical markers of mesothelioma, D2-40 was as sensitive as calretinin and more sensitive than cytokeratin 5/6 and WT1. We conclude that D2-40 immunoreactivity is sensitive for cells of mesothelial origin, and may be useful in the differential diagnosis of epithelioid malignant mesothelioma vs adenocarcinoma.”