Diagnosis
Unfortunately, the diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma is made in the majority of cases only at an advanced stage. By then it is usually already too late for a cure of the disease. The findings can be confirmed by a CT scan, which reveals nodular thickenings in the lung skin.
It is also possible to puncture these areas with a thin needle. However, this can easily lead to metastases in the needle’s puncture canal due to the spread of tumor cells. The known tumor markers for pleural mesothelioma are fibulin-3 or mesothelin-related protein.
A tumor marker can be used to control the progression of cancer. Further information about the prognosis of the disease can be obtained primarily by histological examination of the cancer cells. This involves examining which cells are present exactly and to what extent the tissue shows characteristic cancer features. In the case of pleural mesothelioma, this examination is particularly important because many different types of cancer cells can occur and these in turn are associated with very different disease processes.
Stadiums
Normally, small plaques are first found in the lung skin after exposure to asbestos, then fluid may be stored in the chest cavity and then large thickenings of the pleura may occur. The stages of pleural mesothelioma consist of stage 1 when the cancer is localized. The following stage 2 describes the spread to regional lymph nodes.
The third stage is characterized by growth of malignant cells in the surrounding tissue and in the fourth stage metastases are found in distant organs. At the beginning of this malignant cancer disease there are often unspecific symptoms such as weakness and weight loss. As a result, it is possible that no further examinations are carried out for the time being.Often only in the case of severe symptoms, when an effusion has formed, is there a well-founded suspicion of a pleural mesothelioma. Then, unfortunately, the cancer cells have often spread to neighboring organs, lymph nodes and distant organs. In such cases, breathing becomes difficult and the liver and kidney may also be restricted in their function.
