Pericardial Mesothelioma

We know that mesothelioma is dangerous and often painful cancer that takes place when asbestos fibers gather in the chest cavity for more time and start to damage the mesothelium which is a shield cover that covers the heart, lungs and abdomen. Pericardial mesothelioma accounts for concerning half of all pericardial tumors and it is extremely rare.
Pericardial mesothelioma influences the pericardium a membrane, which is made up of mesothelial cells that surrounds as well as protects the heart. This membrane has two layers, one is an outer layer called parietal pericardium and the second is an inner layer called the visceral pericardium {epicardium}. Pericardial mesothelioma builds up when asbestos particles become trapped between the two layers of the membrane. Mesothelioma has a long dormancy period and it can be decades among when a patient is first exposed to asbestos and when he/she first exhibits symptoms of the disease.
While pericardial mesothelioma continues to be a threat and many people speciously assume that the United States' ban on most commercial uses of asbestos has largely reduced new mesothelioma cases but this cannot be further from the truth.
Following are the symptoms:
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chronic chest pain
- Heart palpitations
- Difficulty breathing
- Heart murmurs
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Chronic coughing
- Night sweats
In case of pericardial mesothelioma doctors generally examine a person's medical record prior to run imaging tests. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is one of the most effective methods for pericardial mesothelioma analysis and if cancer comes into view as present then a biopsy will confirm or deny the suspicion. Biopsy, Chest x-ray and Chest CT scan are also ways to diagnosis the pericardial mesothelioma. Biopsy help to removal pericardium tissue or fluid for laboratory test to confirm the presence of mesothelioma cells. Chest x-ray helps to recognize the tumor which has a characteristic shape of the heart on the x-ray film when there is a tumor of the pericardium. Chest CT scan also helps to detect the tumor.

Treatments:
Unlike the pleural and peritoneal forms of mesothelioma, surgery is not an effective option for treating pericardial mesothelioma, due to the delicateness of the heart.

Radiation therapy: It helps to slow the spread of the cancer; however is often not adequate to kill the cancerous cells. This treatment is useful when it is used with chemotherapy because this treatment blend helps to increase the effectiveness of the radiation therapy. However, radiation as well as chemotherapy comes with the risk of killing healthy cells and cancerous cells that causes a number of serious health-related side effects.

Fine needle aspiration: It involves in elimination of excess fluid that gathers in the pericardium. As it does not necessarily conflict the cancer itself so can just help relieve some of the painful symptoms associated with mesothelioma.

This cancer accounts for about 6% of all the total mesothelioma cases, but this is still just 180 cases in the United States. However, pericardial mesothelioma is detected early enough then surgery may be used to remove parts of the affected area.