Peritoneal mesothelioma is a disease that occurs in the peritoneum membrane˳ Before proceeding ahead let’s take a look what the peritoneum membrane is˳
The peritoneum membrane is divided into parietal and visceral peritoneum˳ The visceral peritoneum lines the intestinal tract and the abdominal organs˳ And the parietal peritoneum envelops the abdominal cavity˳ These layers protect the internal organs and also secrete fluids that lubricate the organs facilitating easy movement of the organs within the abdominal cavity˳
Causes
Like in the case of all types of mesothelioma, asbestos is considered to be the main cause for peritoneal mesothelioma˳ Asbestos can be fatal for the body and can also cause cancer along with other severe diseases˳
Asbestos dust causes significant harm when it enters into the body˳ The dust may enter the body in two ways˳
Firstly, it can enter the body through the lungs during breathing˳ In this case the dust travels through the lymph nodes and reaches the peritoneal cavity˳ Secondly, it can enter due to involuntary ingestion while working with asbestos˳
It can also occur due to the passive inhalation of asbestos dust˳ This is called Tail Piece Passive exposure˳ The clothes of a worker who works amidst asbestos traps the dust between the layers of fabric˳ When these clothes are washed, or used by another person, the asbestos dust enter into that person’s body˳
Symptoms
Peritoneal mesothelioma has a very long latency period˳ It takes the symptoms around 20-30 years to become evident˳ The symptoms originate only in the final stage of the disease˳ By the time the disease is diagnosed as peritoneal mesothelioma it will be too late to provide any useful medication˳
Another problem relating to the diagnosis of this disease is that its symptoms are similar to some of the more common, and less severe, diseases˳ Fever, anemia, weight loss, abdominal pain and bowel obstruction are some of these symptoms˳
The doctor is therefore more likely to provide an inaccurate diagnosis˳ It is therefore important to inform the doctor at the earliest about any exposure to asbestos in the past˳ This will enable the doctor to treat the disease in its early stages˳
Treatment
The type of treatment for the disease will depend on various factors like the severity of the diseases, age of the patient, health of the patient and his/her medical history˳
Some of the traditional treatments for peritoneal mesothelioma are radiation therapy, surgery and chemotherapy˳ Surgery is done only if the tumor has grown in size and is incurable by any other treatment˳ In chemotherapy, anti-carcinogen drugs are introduced into the body by a pill or a needle˳
There has been consistent research going on for developing effective treatments for this disease˳ Improvements in medical science and related technology have led to the development of few new methods of treatments˳ Intraoperative photodynamic therapy, immunotherapy and gene therapy are some of the latest methods in the medical field meant to treat this often fatal disease˳
Intraoperative photodynamic therapy uses light and drugs to destroy the cancer cells˳ It is also used for studying the initial stages of mesothelioma˳ Immunotherapy aims at increasing the immunity of the person’s body˳ Immunity is the capability of the body to fight against harmful substances˳ This therapy is also used to strengthen the immunity against cancer cells˳
It has also been found that mesothelioma can be cured by rectifying certain genes of the body˳ For this very purpose, gene therapy is currently being tested with as a possible treatment˳ Gene therapy helps to rectify the faulty genes of the body, but this process, along with immunotherapy, haven’t been introduced in hospitals yet as they are still under medical scrutiny˳
There are many treatments for mesothelioma but no single treatment is capable of curing the patient single handedly˳ Doctors therefore take a multimodality approach˳ It means that a combination of many treatments are used instead of a single treatment˳ There are several factors that determine the type of combination of treatments to be used, and it varies from case to case˳
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