Are there different types of mesothelioma?
There are four types of mesothelioma defined by tumor location pleural lung lining peritoneal abdominal lining pericardial heart sac and testicular mesothelioma is also identified by three cancer cell types.
Epithelial sarcomatoid and basic types of mesothelium are by location and cell type the types of mesothelium are based on the location where the cancer develops and its cell type for example when it forms in the plural lining around the lungs the cancer is called plural mesothelioma the most common location where mesothelioma forms is in the lungs but other locations include the abdomen heart and testicles each mesothelioma type can lead to different symptoms treatment is tailored by cell variety the prognosis varies by mesothelioma tumor location 2. primary types of mesothelium are by location and cell type 1 plural mesothelioma lungs 2. peritoneal mesothelioma abdomen three epithelial mesothelioma epithelial cells four phasic mesothelioma epithelia and sarcomatoid cells rare types of mesothelium are by location and cell type 1. pericardial mesothelioma heart 2. testicular mesothelioma testes 3. sarcomatoid mesothelioma sarcomatoid cells four other air cell subtypes including well-differentiated papillary cells small cell dissiduoid cystic dismo plastic adenomatoid and heterologous cells plural mesothelioma plural is the most common mesothelioma approximately 70 to 75 percent of cases occur in the pleura more research has been conducted on this mesothelioma tumor than any of the others.
Most patients qualify for chemotherapy radiation therapy some may qualify for immunotherapy these therapies can add months or years to life expectancy characteristics of plural mesothelioma location plural lining chest symptoms shortness of breath chest pain weight loss fever and fatigue prognosis with treatment three plus years at stage one versus 12 months at stage four peritoneal mesothelioma peritoneal disease accounts for 10 to 20 percent of mesothelioma cases there is less research available on peritoneal compared to pleural however the prognosis for this tumor type is better according to research around half of peritoneal mesothelioma patients who have surgery and heated chemotherapy hypec live five or more years after diagnosis characteristics of peritoneal mesothelioma location lining of the abdomen peritoneum symptoms abdominal pain and swelling bloating loss of appetite and bowel changes prognosis 52 live at least five years after surgery with hypec pericardial mesothelioma the pericardial tumor type is extremely rare around 200 cases are reported in medical literature with surgery some patients live for years beyond the average six-month life expectancy characteristics of pericardial mesothelioma location lining of heart pericardium symptoms irregular heartbeat chest pain difficulty breathing and cough prognosis typically ranges from 6 weeks to 15 months testicular mesothelioma testicular mesotholima develops in the lining of the testes this form of mesothelioma is the most rare less than 100 cases are reported in the medical literature treatment options include surgery and chemotherapy.
which can help people live more than two years after diagnosis on average characteristics of testicular mesothelioma location forms in the tunica vaginalis which is the lining covering the testes symptoms scrotal swelling painless testicular lumps prognosis two years three types of mesothelioma cells the three mesothelioma cell varieties are epithelial sarcomatoid is a mix of the first two cell types mesothelioma doctors can tell the difference between cells based on how they look under a microscope different mesothelioma tumors respond differently to treatment epithelial or epithelial cells respond the best and sarcomatoid cells are more resistant to treatment cancer doctors take these differences into account when planning your mesothelioma treatment incidence of these cell types varies by cancer location epithelial cell mesothelioma epithelial mesothelioma makes up approximately 70 to 75 of all cases of asbestos-related mesothelium are cancers epithelial cell has the best prognosis it tends to be less aggressive and doesn't spread as quickly as psychomatoid and face excel disease about 50 of plural diseases epithelium around 75 of peritoneal tumors are made up of epithelial cells sarcomatoid cell mesothelium sarcomatoid mesothelium is the least common mesothelioma cell category it is the most aggressive and difficult to treat it accounts for around 10 percent to 20 of all mesothelioma diagnoses you may hear sarcomatoid mesothelium are referred to as sarcomatus spindle or diffuse malignant fibrous mesothelioma about 20 of plural tumors are sarcomatoid while only one percent of peritoneal mesothelioma mesothelioma refers to tumors that contain epithelial and psychomatoid cells life expectancy after diagnosis with basic mesothelium depends upon which cell predominates in the tumor more epithelial cells generally mean a better prognosis if the tumor is mostly sarcomatous it is harder to treat and life expectancy is shorter around 30 of plural and 25 of peritoneal tumors up face excel based on the limited number of cases reported in the medical literature pericardial mesothelium exhibits roughly equal distribution of the three mesothelioma cell types approximately two-thirds of testicular mesothelium cases are epithelial cell the rest of testicular cases are basic only one case of purely sarcomatoid cell diseases reported for testicular mesothelioma.
