what causes mesothelioma

Asbestos exposure is the main cause of pleural mesothelioma. Asbestos exposure is the only proven cause of mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Symptoms Causes And Treatments

Symptoms are often mistaken as a common cold or pneumonia with chest pain breathing discomfort or a consistent cough.

What causes mesothelioma. When asbestos fibers are breathed in they travel to the ends of small air passages and reach the pleura where they can cause inflammation and scarring. Because these fibers are resistant to heat. The main risk factor for mesothelioma is working with asbestos.

About 8 out of 10 people with mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos. However there are other factors and pre existing conditions that could increase risk. Mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis which affects tissue surrounding the testicles may be first detected as swelling or a mass on a testicle.

Pericardial mesothelioma which affects tissue that surrounds the heart can cause signs and symptoms such as breathing difficulty and chest pains. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that most frequently arises from the cells lining the sacs of the chest the pleura or the abdomen the peritoneumpleural mesothelioma is the most common form often becoming apparent with symptoms in the chest area such as chest pain cough andor shortness of breathshortness of breath often occurs due to a large pleural effusion fluid in the. Less commonly the lining of the abdomen and rarely the sac surrounding the heart or the sac surrounding the testis may be affected.

When inhaled or ingested the fibers may become lodged within the lining of the internal organs leading to cancer. Signs and symptoms of mesothelioma may. Mesothelioma may take between 20 50 years to show symptoms.

The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Men are more commonly diagnosed with mesothelioma than women at a ratio of 5 to 1. Asbestos is a group of minerals with thin microscopic fibers.

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs known as the mesothelium. These genetic mutations affect cell division and cause mesothelioma tumors.

Pericardial Mesothelioma