Mesothelioma natural history

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Parminder Dhingra, M.D. [2], Sujit Routray, M.D. [3]

Overview

If left untreated, mesothelioma may progress to develop dyspnea, dysphagia, pleural effusion, thrombophlebitis, constrictive pericarditis, recurrent hydrocele, and metastases, depending on the site involved. Complications of mesothelioma include pleural effusion, spinal cord compression, Horner's syndrome, superior vena cava syndrome, hyperviscocity syndrome, pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade, heart failure, ascites, and recurrent hydrocele. The prognosis of mesothelioma depends on the cell subtype.[1]

Natural History

  • Malignant mesothelioma is usually an aggressive disease.[1]
  • The exposure to the asbestos that cause mesothelioma occurrs 25-40 years to appear.
  • Metastasis outside the thoracic wall occurs late in the course of pleural mesothelioma. Common sites of metastasis for pleural mesothelioma include:[2]
  • Peritoneal mesothelioma does not usually spread to the lymph nodes or distant organs. Common sites of metastasis for peritoneal mesothelioma include:[2]

Complications

Complications of Pleural Mesothelioma

Common complications of pleural mesothelioma include:[3][4][5][6]

Complications of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Common complications of peritoneal mesothelioma include:[7]

Complications of Pericardial Mesothelioma

Common complications of pericardial mesothelioma include:[8]

Complications of Tunica Vaginalis Testis Mesothelioma

Common complications of tunica vaginalis testis mesothelioma include:[9]

Prognosis

  • Prognosis in mesothelioma is difficult to assess consistently because there is great variability in the time before diagnosis and the rate of disease progression.[10]
  • The prognostic factors for mesothelioma include:[11]
  • Cell subtype: Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common subtype of mesothelioma and has a better prognosis than sarcomatoid or mixed (biphasic) types. Sarcomatoid subtype has the least favorable prognosis.
  • Location of mesothelioma: Pericardial mesothelioma is usually associated with a poorer prognosis than the other types of mesothelioma.
  • Surgical removal: Mesothelioma that can be resected has a more favorable prognosis than mesothelioma that has spread too far and is unresectable. Clear surgical margins improve prognosis. Mesothelioma is often a diffuse disease and doesn’t stay localized. This makes it difficult to get clear surgical margins.
  • Stage: Stage plays a role in prognosis for people who have surgery. The stage of mesothelioma does not impact survival for people who do not have surgery. Generally, early stage mesothelioma has a better prognosis than more advanced stages. If mesothelioma has spread to the lymph nodes, it is usually associated with a less favorable prognosis.
  • Symptoms: The presence of chest pain with pleural mesothelioma or excessive weight loss is associated with a poorer prognosis. Chest pain suggests there may advanced disease that is unresectable.
  • Thrombocytosis: Thrombocytosis is associated with a poorer prognosis.
  • Leukocytosis: Leukocytosis is associated with a poorer prognosis.
  • Performance status: People with a good performance status have a better prognosis than those with a poor performance status.
  • Age: Younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
  • Sex: Females seem to have a better prognosis than men.
  • Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level: People with increased LDH blood levels tend to have a less favorable prognosis than those with normal LDH levels. LDH is an enzyme in the blood that can be increased when there is damage to certain tissue or cancer.
  • Mesothelioma occurring in germline BAP1 mutation carriers have been reported to be less aggressive clinically and associated with prolonged survival compared with sporadic mesothelioma.[12]
  • As discussed earlier, the prognosis of mesothelioma depends on the cell subtype. The median survival time of various subtypes of mesothelioma are tabulated below.[1]
Location of mesothelioma Approximate median survival
Pleural 4-18 months
Peritoneal 5-12 months
Pericardial 6 months
Tunica vaginalis testis 23 months

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Survival statistics for mesothelioma. Canadian cancer society 2016. http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/mesothelioma/prognosis-and-survival/survival-statistics/?region=on. Accessed on February 10, 2016
  2. 2.0 2.1 If mesothelioma spreads. Canadian cancer society 2016. http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/mesothelioma/if-cancer-spreads/?region=on. Accessed on February 15, 2016
  3. Complications of mesothelioma. Mayo clinic 2016. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mesothelioma/basics/complications/con-20026157. Accessed on February 13, 2016
  4. Mensi C, Termine L, Garberi A, Meroni S, Levi D, Balzarini L; et al. (2012). "Spinal cord compression: an unusual presentation of malignant pleural mesothelioma. A case report and review of the literature". Tumori. 98 (4): e92–7. doi:10.1700/1146.12651. PMID 23052177.
  5. Minami T, Matsumoto K, Aizawa H, Nakano H, Sugio K, Nakashima Y; et al. (1999). "[Horner's syndrome in a patient with diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma]". Nihon Kokyuki Gakkai Zasshi. 37 (4): 287–90. PMID 10390966.
  6. Ragalie GF, Varkey B, Choi H (1983). "Malignant pleural mesothelioma presenting as superior vena cava syndrome". Can Med Assoc J. 128 (6): 689–91, 740. PMC 1875200. PMID 6825037.
  7. Clinical presentation of peritoneal mesothelioma. Dr Alexandra Stanislavsky et al. Radiopaedia 2016. http://radiopaedia.org/articles/peritoneal-mesothelioma. Accessed on February 13, 2016
  8. Complications of pericardial mesothelioma. Dr Henry Knipe and Dr Yuranga Weerakkody et al. Radiopaedia 2016. http://radiopaedia.org/articles/pericardial-mesothelioma. Accessed on February 13, 2016
  9. Clinical presentation of tunica vaginalis testis mesothelioma. Dr Matt A. Morgan and Dr Dalia Ibrahim et al. Radiopaedia 2016. http://radiopaedia.org/articles/tunica-vaginalis-testis-mesothelioma. Accessed on February 13, 2016
  10. Diagnosis and Prognostic Factors of mesothelioma. National cancer institute 2016. http://www.cancer.gov/types/mesothelioma/hp/mesothelioma-treatment-pdq. Accessed on February 15, 2016
  11. Prognosis and survival for mesothelioma. Cancer canadian society 2016. http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/mesothelioma/prognosis-and-survival/?region=on. Accessed on February 8, 2016
  12. Thomas, Anish; Chen, Yuanbin; Yu, Tinghui; Gill, Ammara; Prasad, Vinay (2015). "Distinctive clinical characteristics of malignant mesothelioma in young patients". Oncotarget. 6 (18): 16766–16773. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.4414. ISSN 1949-2553.


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