Mesothelioma is a narrow, fast-spreading tumor of the pleura, peritoneum or pericardium. These are tissues that surround & encase internal organs. It always arises from exposure to asbestos, either on the job or in the house, & can take lots of years to create. About 3,000 people are diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in the United States every year.
Because mesothelioma is such a rare cancer, lots of published studies focus on a single notable case or a small group of cases. A brand spanking new study conducted by the Los angeles Occupational Medicine Institute attempts to paint a bigger picture of mesothelioma by analyzing a bigger number of cases. The Los angeles researchers document on the findings of 238 cases of malignant mesothelioma from a private medical practice. Most of the cases had a history of exposure to asbestos at work. Their observations included the following:
Patient Characteristics Primarily because of this long latency, mesothelioma is normally a disease of the elderly. The mean age at diagnosis in the Los angeles study was 70. Men appear to be more likely to contract mesothelioma than females, even with the same level of exposure.
Latency Despite isolated cases of short latency (such as the recent case of a woman who contracted mesothelioma 8 years after exposure), this cancer usually takes at least 20 years to create. The Los angeles researchers found a mean latency in their study of 48.5 years. The disease took longer to create in woman than it did in men. They also found that individuals who were exposed to smaller amounts of asbestos tended to create the disease later that those who had higher exposure.
The analysis was published in the journal Industrial Health.
Survival Mesothelioma remains a difficult disease to treat. The Los angeles researchers found an overall survival among study participants of 8.8 months. On the positive side, those who underwent treatment did live longer about 11.3 months as against 6.4 months without treatment. The analysis also confirmed that mesothelioma patients with the epithelioid variety survive longer & do better with treatment than do patients with the sarcomatoid or biphasic varieties.
Because mesothelioma is such a rare cancer, lots of published studies focus on a single notable case or a small group of cases. A brand spanking new study conducted by the Los angeles Occupational Medicine Institute attempts to paint a bigger picture of mesothelioma by analyzing a bigger number of cases. The Los angeles researchers document on the findings of 238 cases of malignant mesothelioma from a private medical practice. Most of the cases had a history of exposure to asbestos at work. Their observations included the following:
Patient Characteristics Primarily because of this long latency, mesothelioma is normally a disease of the elderly. The mean age at diagnosis in the Los angeles study was 70. Men appear to be more likely to contract mesothelioma than females, even with the same level of exposure.
Latency Despite isolated cases of short latency (such as the recent case of a woman who contracted mesothelioma 8 years after exposure), this cancer usually takes at least 20 years to create. The Los angeles researchers found a mean latency in their study of 48.5 years. The disease took longer to create in woman than it did in men. They also found that individuals who were exposed to smaller amounts of asbestos tended to create the disease later that those who had higher exposure.
The analysis was published in the journal Industrial Health.
Survival Mesothelioma remains a difficult disease to treat. The Los angeles researchers found an overall survival among study participants of 8.8 months. On the positive side, those who underwent treatment did live longer about 11.3 months as against 6.4 months without treatment. The analysis also confirmed that mesothelioma patients with the epithelioid variety survive longer & do better with treatment than do patients with the sarcomatoid or biphasic varieties.
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