Mesothelioma Vaccine

Cancer vaccines of any sort generally fall under the broader category of immunotherapy. Vaccines are best described as medicines that are designed to boost the body's natural immune system and protect it against bacteria or viruses that can cause disease. Most individuals are familiar with the vaccines that are administered to babies or young children. They are given to stop the development of certain diseases like whooping cough and tetanus. Cancer vaccines can do that, too; however, there are others that are also designed to keep an existing...

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Mesothelioma And Women

Traditionally, malignant mesothelioma is a form of asbestos cancer that affects men much more often then women. This is not because women are less genetically pre-disposed to the disease but merely because, historically, men more often worked at asbestos jobsites that put them in contact with dangerous asbestos. That said, however, mesothelioma disease has indeed been diagnosed in women, though on-the-job exposure is often not the reason for the development of the disease. Some studies have also demonstrated that women who develop mesothelioma...

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Child Mesothelioma

Because it has a lengthy latency period and is primarily associated with industrial exposure, mesothelioma is a form of asbestos cancer that is usually suffered by older men; average age at the time of diagnosis is sixty-five. Malignant mesothelioma is extremely rare in children, but has been known to occur. A study carried out and published in the late 1980s examined eighty children who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma; however, only five percent of these subjects had a known history of asbestos exposure. Of the eighty children studied, four...

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Adult Mesothelioma

Although mesothelioma can strike at any age, the majority of cases are found in men aged sixty-five and older. Although the gender factor is not entirely clear, age at diagnosis is due to the lengthy mesothelioma latency period. In most cases, it can be as much as sixty years between initial exposure to asbestos and the appearance of mesothelioma symptoms leading to a mesothelioma diagnosis. In the case of pleural mesothelioma, symptoms can also be indicative of many other disorders that range from something as innocuous as the common chest cold...

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Mesothelioma Prevention

Mesothelioma is an extremely aggressive and deadly form of cancer that is almost exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. Although mesothelioma disease is relatively rare, it is one of the most painful and difficult to treat; the best cure for mesothelioma is prevention. Ultimately, this means avoiding asbestos exposure. Although the chances of contracting mesothelioma are proportional to the amount and intensity of the exposure, the disease has been known to develop in people whose exposure has been minimal - but who have a genetic predisposition...

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Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

Numerous issues determine a mesothelioma patient's life expectancy once a diagnosis has been made. The stage of the disease, location and variety as well as the course of treatment and the patient's age and overall health can all play a significant part in determining how long the patient will survive. Traditionally, mesothelioma patients have the worst prognosis of all cancer patients. The primary reason for this is the fact that mesothelioma latency period is long (i.e. usually measured in decades), and the symptoms are common to numerous other...

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Mesothelioma Survival Rate

A common query for those who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma is “How long can I live with this disease?” Indeed, many patients will turn to their doctor with this question as will their concerned friends and family members. As with most diseases, however, there is no one answer as to the life expectancy of a meso patient, but - in general - the mesothelioma survival rate is based on a number of different factors. Every case is a little bit different and though the survival rate for mesothelioma victims has traditionally been grim, more and...

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Mesothelioma Survivors

Mesothelioma is a serious cancer that, although latent in the body for usually decades before symptoms become apparent, once mesothelioma symptoms are apparent and a diagnosis is reached, patients often face a short mesothelioma life expectancy. The good news is that there are some long-term survivors of mesothelioma, and their cases may help researchers to unlock the clues that will one day help to provide a mesothelioma cure for this life-threatening illness. Paul Kraus and Other Survivors One such individual is Paul Kraus, who is from Australia....

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Mesothelioma Cure

Although currently there are no cures for the asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma, research is moving in a hopeful direction toward finding a cure. Treatments to better manage the disease and live longer are available at this time, and offer a range of options for mesothelioma patients and hope for a greater mesothelioma life expectancy. Understanding Mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the mesothelium, which is a lining that surrounds the heart, lung, and abdominal cavity. The major cause of malignant mesothelioma is...

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Mesothelioma Remission

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium, or lining, which surrounds the abdominal cavity, the lungs and the heart. Because of its commonly long mesothelioma latency period before diagnosis, the cancer is often far developed by the time a mesothelioma diagnosis occurs, and thus does not often go into remission. Remission is when the mesothelioma symptoms disappear in full or in part. However, there have been some encouraging recent cases of patients who consider themselves mesothelioma survivors because they have been able to manage the disease...

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Mesothelioma Latency Period

Malignant mesothelioma often has a long period of latency, in fact the longest of the asbestos-related diseases, before a mesothelioma diagnosis occurs in people. Diagnosis happens by mesothelioma doctors when the disease becomes apparent, but latency refers to the length of time it takes from being exposed to asbestos until the time when the disease becomes apparent in a clinical examination. Latency can be as short as 10 years or as long as 50, but the average length of latency for malignant mesothelioma is 35 to 40 years between exposure and...

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Mesothelioma Disease

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that attacks the cells of the mesothelium, a thin membrane that lines the thoracic and abdominal cavities as well as the heart sac. It has been determined that the cause of mesothelioma is almost always exposure to asbestos. This disease is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer and there is no known mesothelioma cure. Unfortunately, most patients die within just a few years of a mesothelioma diagnosis. History Mesothelioma cancer was first described and recognized as a pathologic entity in the 1870s...

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Mesothelioma Information

As with any disease or health condition, mesothelioma researchers have, over time, collected statistical information about mesothelioma. These statistics can help us learn about the proclivities of the disease and its incidence and potentially help future patients as we learn more about mesothelioma. Incidence of Diagnosis New cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in between 2,500 and 3,000 Americans each year. These numbers, while significant, would indicate that mesothelioma is still a relatively rare disease, though incidence is expected to...

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Mesothelioma Stages

Staging is the process of finding out how far the cancer has spread. Staging of mesothelioma is based on imaging studies such as x-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans. The mesothelioma treatment and life expectancy for patients with the disease largely depends on the stage (extent of spread) of their cancer. Since pleural mesothelioma occurs most frequently and has been studied the most, it is the only mesothelioma for which a staging classification exists. The staging system most often used for mesothelioma cancer is the Butchart system. This system...

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Papillary Mesothelioma

Papillary mesothelioma is a very rare form of mesothelioma cancer. It is generally diagnosed in women, usually those who are still in the reproductive stages of their life. This is generating a greater interest for information on mesothelioma and women. It usually develops in the peritoneum - the lining of the abdomen - and, in most cases, is benign. The disease, also known as well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma (WDPM), has also been seen in the tunica vaginalis, part of the male reproductive system as well as in the ovaries, lining of the...

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Biphasic Mesothelioma

Biphasic mesothelioma is the second most common cellular form of this disease, accounting for 20 to 40 percent of all known cases. As the name implies, biphasic mesothelioma is a mixture of two mesothelioma cell types. Characteristics Unlike the more common epithelioid type, biphasic mesothelioma cells lack a specific structure. This type of mesothelioma is a mix of epithelioid and sarcomatoid cells. Whereas the former has a clearly visible nucleus and is found in uniform, organized arrangements and tend to be of a single shape, sarcomatoid cells...

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Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a cancer that attacks the lubricative layer lining the inside of the chest and abdomen and the internal organs. Pathologists categorize mesothelioma cancer cases according to levels of criteria, which are as follows: Location: •    Lungs (pleural mesothelioma) •    Abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma) •    Heart (pericardial mesothelioma) Stage: •    Stage 1 Mesothelioma - Cancer cells have started to form •    Stage 2 Mesothelioma - Cancer has spread locally •   ...

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Epithelial Mesothelioma

Epithelial mesothelioma cells have a definite structure with visible nuclei. This is the most common variant of this type of mesothelioma cancer, accounting for about 60 percent of all cases. This type of mesothelioma develops when malignant cells develop on any of the mesothelial linings. When examined under a microscope, these mesothelioma cell types are of a uniform size and shape, and resemble normal, healthy epithelial cells. Epithelial mesothelioma cells also bear a strong resemblance to adenocarcinoma cells, which are also associated with...

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Mesothelioma Cell Types

Malignant mesothelioma can also be classified by different cancer cell types, each of which tends to behave differently. There are three classifications assigned to malignant mesothelioma cell types. Epithelial Mesothelioma is the most common cell type and accounts for approximately 50-75% percent of all diagnosed cases each year. These cells are uniform in shape, with an elongated pattern that makes them easily distinguishable when viewed under high magnification. These types of mesothelioma cancer are adenocarcinomas, malignancies which are...

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