Pericardial Mesothelioma

Pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer that develops in a thin membrane surrounding the heart, known as the pericardium. the membrane has two layers : an outer layer called the parietal layer, heart sac or theca cordis, and an inner layer known as the visceral layer or epicardium.

pericardial mesothelioma overview
there are four common forms of mesothelioma, and pericardial and testicular mesotheliomas are the rarest. to date, approximately 200 cases of pericardial mesothelioma are presented in medical literature. that represents around 1 percent of all known diagnosed mesotheliomas.

almost all mesothelioma cancers can be traced to an exposure to asbestos, but medical researchers continue to study the link between asbestos and pericardial mesothelioma. studies are clear on how inhaled microscopic fibers reach the lungs to cause pleural mesothelioma, but less clear on how the fibers reach the pericardium.

this form of cancer strikes twice as many men as women, and is most often diagnosed in people between the ages of 50 and 70. like the other forms of mesothelioma, the disease develops over a long period of time — one to five decades — and is typically discovered in a later stage. symptoms include chest pain, fatigue and shortness of breath, among others, and they mimic those of other disorders to make diagnosing pericardial mesothelioma difficult.

treatment options follow that of most other cancers : surgery ( if a patient is deemed healthy enough ), chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or a combination of all three modalities. about half of the people who contract pericardial mesothelioma survive longer than six months.