Asbestos lung cancer
What do you know about mesothelioma or a type of lung cancer that is associated with exposure to fiberglass or asbestos?
What are the symptoms of asbestos-dependent lung cancer?
How is asbestos-dependent lung cancer diagnosed and treated?
In the following, we will talk more about a type of lung tumor that is closely associated with exposure to asbestos and is called mesothelioma.
What you will read next:
Introduction
The lungs are large and vital organs of the body, so if there is a cancerous mass in the lungs, it can grow without causing symptoms in the early stages. This is why most lung cancers and tumors are diagnosed late. Fatigue and cough are two general symptoms that can be caused by many malignant lung tumors.
Unfortunately, many people simply ignore these two common warning signs.
There is one point, and that is that it is very important to determine the type of lung cancer, because it usually determines which cell the cancer belongs to, and it is also important to diagnose the type of cancer, as it helps the treatment team perform appropriate treatment and supportive measures based on the type of tumor.
What are the types of lung tumors?
There are three general categories of lung cancer tumors, sometimes named after the appearance and size of the cells seen under a microscope. We will talk a little about these types below.
- The first category is non-small cell lung cancer
It is the most common type of lung cancer and 85% of all lung cancers are from this type and therefore it has three main categories:
a) Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer that affects men and women
b) Squamous cell carcinoma is 25% of all lung cancers
c) large cell carcinoma accounts for 10% of non-small cell lung cancer cells.
Carcinomas are mucosal cells that cover the lining of the body.
Surgery in cancers is often used to remove non-small cell lung cancer masses. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy or a combination of them before surgery can make the cancerous mass smaller and make surgery easier.
- The second category is small cell lung cancer
They are 15% of cancers of this type and are well known to grow faster than non-small cell lung cancer. Because it grows faster and multiplies faster. Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of this type of lung cancer. Unfortunately, we have to say that although this cancer responds better to chemotherapy than non-small cell lung cancer, it is generally more difficult to treat this tumor because it easily metastasizes.
Surgery in this type of cancer is also less, due to the high probability of distant spreads.
- The third category is classified as rare types of lung cancer
There are two lung cancers in this category, one is mesothelioma and two are carcinoid tumors of the lung. What is discussed in this article is mesothelioma.
What is Asbestos-dependent lung cancer or Mesothelioma?
If we want to talk very briefly about this cancer, we must say that the origin of this cancer will be from the cells of the inner wall of the chest, and it is common and often seen in people who have been exposed to gas inhalation. Asbestos is a mineral and its applications in the industry has many uses, for example, fireproof textile products, fire resistant clothing, firefighters' protective clothing, etc. are some of the applications that fiberglass has in the industry.
In general, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery may be used to treat mesothelioma, depending on the condition of the health of the individual.
Epidemiology
The latest statistics on the annual incidence of asbestos-related lung cancer, or Mesothelioma, have released that there are approximately 3,300 new cases annually in the United States alone.
It is interesting to note that after the year 2000 in the United States, special controls were carried out in the industries, and thus the workers and employees who came into contact with asbestos in the industrial environment were forced to observe more safety and protection points in their contacts. The number of patients with mesothelioma in 2000 is much, much higher than in recent years.
Considering the significant and significant reduction in the number of severe cases of mesothelioma in recent years compared to the years before the establishment of protection protocols in today's Industrial factories, we find that asbestos certainly has a very significant impact on the incidence of mesothelioma or asbestos-dependent lung cancer.
signs
The biggest symptoms are:
- Chest pain
- Fatigue that is very different from fatigue after physical activity
- Shortness of breath
- Rising temperature or high fever Or fever and sweating at night
- significant appetite reduction
- Very significant unexplained weight loss
- Chronic cough
- Spoon nails
What causes mesothelioma?
Studies show that people with non-asbestos-dependent mesothelioma have a strong association with volcanic material called erionite.
It is said that a certain part of Turkey today, which has certain inhabitants, suffers more from non-asbestos-dependent mesothelioma than other parts of the world, in which the above substances are more concentrated.
Another cause of mesothelioma is the high exposure to asbestos or fiberglass in industries such as the production of fire-resistant clothing.
Other causes include exposure to cigarette radiation as well as simian virus40.
Diagnosis
The doctor confirms the diagnosis of mesothelioma by performing a series of diagnostic and paraclinical procedures. The most definitive method that confirms the diagnosis of mesothelioma is sampling and biopsy, ie the doctor first takes a detailed history and evaluates the patient's symptoms and then after a complete physical examination and sometimes a simple chest X-ray and CT scan and laboratory tests, a biopsy can confirm mesothelioma.
treatment
Here are some common treatments for mesothelioma today.
Surgery, in which the part of the chest that is involved is removed by surgery.
Chemotherapy
Use of immunotherapy and target therapy
Which of the above treatment modalities your doctor uses for you depends entirely on the location of the tumor, the symptoms, and your general health.
Concluding remarks
One of the lesser-known types of cancer is mesothelioma. This tumor in the chest can originate from the chest wall. It can also grow from the upper wall of the abdominal cavity and it can also form inside the heart.
Of all the above, thoracic wall mesotheliomas or asbestos-dependent lung cancer are the most common and are associated with high mortality.
Lung mesotheliomas that patients have been dealing with asbestos have a worse prognosis.
About 3,300 new mesothelioma patients are discovered each year in the United States who have lived in an asbestos-exposed environment for many years.
There is currently no significant treatment for mesothelioma. Only routine treatments such as targeted radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, depending on the individual's condition, can extend the patient's life to some extent.
Cisplatin and Altima are some of the drugs that are effective in chemotherapy for asbestos-dependent mesothelioma patients.