Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma. Malignant tumor that occurs in the pleura or peritoneum. Observed in medical practice is relatively rare. The risk of the disease is higher in patients with asbestosis. Clinical symptoms are nonspecific. With pleural mesothelioma - pain in the chest, dyspnea, cough, accumulation of exudate in the pleural cavity, with peritoneal peritoneum - abdominal pain, weight loss, abdominal swelling, tumor, ascites. In addition to various non-tumor diseases, a differential diagnosis is performed with metastases to the pleura and peritoneum of tumors of different locations. In the exudate obtained from the pleural or abdominal cavity, malignant mesothelial cells are found (in 50% of cases). However, the diagnosis of mesothelioma is established only with a biopsy performed during thoraco- and laparoscopy, or with a percutaneous puncture biopsy. Endoscopic examination allows you to see multiple small tumor formations on the pleura and peritoneum. In some cases, a tumor node of large dimensions (diffuse or diffusive-nodular form) is determined.

Metastasizes mesothelioma locally, rarely detect metastases in the liver, lungs, other organs.

Treatment. Surgical treatment is useful only in the presence of large tumor nodes, aimed at reducing the mass of the tumor. With small tumor metastases, intracavitary administration of radioactive colloidal gold is used. Palliative treatment is also important for radiation therapy in the area of ​​the location of non-detectable tumor formations and chemotherapy, in which thiophosphamide (30-40 mg once a week), adriamycin (50 mg / m2 iv every 3 weeks), cisplatin (100 mg / m2 iv once every 3 weeks) or both at the same time.