The stages of Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer that attacks people who were exposed to asbestos in the past in their work or home environment. Before it can be treated properly, a patient needs to be diagnosis of what stage of the cancer they are at currently.
There are three different types of Mesothelioma. Approximately 50-70% of Mesothelioma cancer occurrences are the epitheliod type. These are the ones with the most promising prognosis. The second and third types, sarcomatoid, (7-20% of all cases) and mixed/biphasic type (20-35% of all diagnosed cases). Treatment options for all three of the different types are generally the same.
Two staging systems are used in Pleural Mesothelioma (lungs) the TNM system and the Brighan system. These staging systems are used in other kinds of cancers, the TNM system being the one that is most commonly used. Since there is no established method to determine the stage of the Peritonal Mesothelioma cancer, (the one that occurs in the abdominal cavities) the TNM system is generally used.
Within the TNM system (T=tumor, N=spread to lymph nodes, and M=metastasis), three things are diagnosed. Tumor, lymph nodes and metastasis. In the earliest stage, Stage I, Mesothelioma malignant cells start to grow and multiply on only one layer of the pleura. The pleura are a membrane that encloses the lungs and connects them, (forming a lining) to the wall of the chest cavity. In some Stage I, incidences, the pericardium, (the membranes that surround the heart) are already affected.
The second stage occurs when both the layers of the pleura membranes are already showing malignant Mesothelioma cells. At this point, however, in this second stage, only one side of the body is affected. Usually the pleura only produce small lubricating fluid amounts that help with the expansion and contraction of the lungs while breathing. The blood and lymph vessels absorb the excess fluid thus creating a balance between amounts of fluid processed. When second stage Mesothelioma occurs, this fluid builds up between the membrane of e lungs and the membrane of the chest wall. This in pleural effusion. This increase of fluid volume can cause shortness of breath and chest pain. Mesothelioma cancer patients can experience dry and persistent cough at this stage. To get a diagnosis of pleural effusion is achieved through x-rays of the chest.
Once the Mesothelioma has spread to the chest wall, lymph nodes and esophagus, this is Stage III. All the parts affected at this point cause severe pain in the patient. If the Mesothelioma patient does not respond well to treatment at this point, or has not been treated or diagnosised the Mesothelioma cancer progresses to Stage IV.
By the time Mesothelioma patients reach, stage IV, the malignant cancer cells are in the bloodstream and have gone to other organs in the body. These can and usually include the liver, bones and brain. By this time, the lymph nodes on the other side of the chest are affected, too.
The Brighan staging system determines if the Mesothelioma can be surgically removed. If the lymph nodes have not been affected a patient could still recover by undergoing surgery. This would be the first stage. In the Brighan staging system, in stage II, surgery can still occur, but the cancers cell will have entered the lymph nodes to some degree. Stage III infects the chest wall and heart infected with the cancerous cells, so surgery is not usually advised at this point. Like in the first system, by the IV stage, the Mesothelioma cancer cells have gotten into the bloodstream and started to attack the brain, liver and bone. When the cancer is in this stage, the patient usually has only between four-twenty four hours left to live.
Therefore, to sum it all up, the stages explain the degree to which the cancer cells have grown and spread. Stage I being only in the right or left pleura, pericardium or diaphragm. Stage II the cancer spreads to the chest wall, esophagus, heart or the pleura on both sides. It can also attach the lymph nodes in the chest. By the time, Mesothelioma has moved to Stage III it has gone through the diaphragm and entered the lining around the abdominal cavity. More lymph nodes are affected by this point, too.
Once it hits Stage IV, the doctors have found evidence that the Mesothelioma cancer has entered the bloodstream attacking more of the most vital and extreme organs, the bones, brain and liver.