Mesothelioma Types

Common Mesothelioma Types

There are a number of different mesothelioma types, but the most common form of this disease is the one that affects the lining of the lungs, a type of mesothelioma that is known as pleural mesothelioma.

There are other mesothelioma types that you should be aware of, including pericardial mesothelioma, affecting the heart's lining, as well as peritoneal mesothelioma, affecting the abdomen's lining.

Mesothelioma is a cancer that is capable of affecting the serous membranes, membranes that are responsible for surrounding all of the major organs in the body's midsection including the heart, the lungs and the abdominal cavity.

Different organs are capable of being affected similarly by mesothelioma because the serious membranes can be found in so many different places within the body.

Despite what many people have been led to believe, mesothelioma is not actually a form of primary lung cancer, meaning that it does not originate within the lungs.

Instead, mesothelioma of the lungs begins in the serous membranes which exist within the lining that surrounds the lungs as well as the lining surrounding other organs in the chest and abdomen. However, numerous mesothelioma types are capable of spreading to the actual lungs, making mesothelioma a secondary lung cancer.

Mesothelioma is also regularly known as asbestos lung cancer although this is not quite correct. Mesothelioma never originates in the lungs. Asbestosis is a type of disease of the lung that is regularly confused with mesothelioma cancer.

Main Mesothelioma Types

Pleural Mesothelioma

The most popular of the mesothelioma types is pleural mesothelioma, which represents approximately 75 percent of all cases of mesothelioma. This is a disease that can grow quickly, enlarging the pleural space by causing it to fill up with fluid.

This fluid goes on to lead to discomfort and even pain, and these are the symptoms that most commonly lead to a diagnosis. It is believed that pleural mesothelioma is first caused when fibrous materials such as asbestos are inhaled. These fibers become lodged in the pleural space and cause damage to the sensitive tissue layer over time, causing cancer.

Pericardial Mesothelioma

The rarest of all mesothelioma types is Pericardial mesothelioma, the type of mesothelioma that affects the heart's lining, a tissue known as the pericardium. Less than 10 percent of all cases of mesothelioma are related to the pericardial lining of the heart.

The rapid growth of cancerous tumors causes an expansion of the tissue, allowing fluid to accumulate. Although it is unknown how the asbestos fibers can enter into the tissue layers surrounding your heart, they are still regarded as the cause for pericardial mesothelioma.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma

The final of the main three mesothelioma types is peritoneal mesothelioma, which is mesothelioma of the abdominal cavity. The peritoneum is the serous membrane that surrounds the abdomen.

Between 10 % and 20 % of all mesothelioma cases are peritoneal mesothelioma cases. Peritoneal mesothelioma may also occur in the male's testicles because the scrotum's covering layer is an out pouching of the abdomen's peritoneum.