Factory workers, miners, construction workers, and military veterans are some of the groups considered to be high risk because they had regular on-the-job contact with asbestos.
Most people who come in contact with asbestos do not get mesothelioma. With about 3,000 diagnosed cases each year, the disease is considered rare. Indeed, researchers find that it’s hard to draw large-scale conclusions about treatments and survival rates because the sample sizes are so small.
Like many cancers, mesothelioma is likely triggered by a combination of environment (in this case, contact with asbestos), genetics, health, and lifestyle.
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Symptoms for Each Type
Pleural mesothelioma forms in the protective tissue surrounding the lungs (pleura). It represents 75 percent of all mesothelioma cases.
Most pleural symptoms affect the airways, lungs, and breathing muscles (respiratory system). Patients with pleural mesothelioma commonly report:
Pleural effusion, excess fluid buildup around the lung (90 percent)
Shortness of breath (79 percent)
Chest pains (64 percent)
Dry cough (36 percent)
Weight loss (30 percent)
Some patients also report diminished chest expansion and unusual breathing sounds.
Early-Stage Pleural Mesothelioma Symptoms (Stages 1 and 2)
In the early stages of pleural mesothelioma, the cancer is localized or has spread (metastasized) minimally. At this point, many patients don’t have any symptoms at all, though some may notice chest pains, fatigue, or shortness of breath.
Pleural mesothelioma may also cause pleural thickening, a condition that reduces the lungs’ elasticity. It’s characterized by shortness of breath and chest pain, symptoms that are not exclusive to pleural mesothelioma.
The doctor cannot diagnose on symptoms alone. He or she must run further tests to determine the cause of your symptoms.
Late-Stage Pleural Mesothelioma Symptoms (Stages 3 and 4)
In stages 3 and 4, the cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body and, possibly, to the lymph nodes. At this point, patients may continue to experience symptoms from earlier stages as well as additional signs, including:
Abdominal pain (if the cancer has spread to that area)
Loss of appetite
Difficulty swallowing
Pleural effusions
Anemia
Fever and/or night sweats
Unlike symptoms in the early stages, these signs more clearly point to pleural mesothelioma.Read more about the stages of pleural mesothelioma.
Symptoms of Other Mesothelioma Types
Peritoneal mesothelioma (begins in the lining of the abdominal cavity) and pericardial mesothelioma (begins in the lining around the heart) are much less common than pleural mesothelioma. Therefore, they don’t have a formal stage classification system. The timeline of symptoms may vary from patient to patient.
Peritoneal mesothelioma patients commonly have:
Abdominal fluid buildup (77 percent)
Weight loss (60 percent)
Loss of appetite (60 percent)
Seizures (10 percent)
Many patients also report abdominal pain/tenderness and abdominal hernias. Some also experience bowel obstruction, which tends to occur when the cancer is more advanced. Similarly, fluid buildup is usually a late-stage symptom.
Less information is available about peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms, but in general, patients may have:
Chest pain
Pericardial thickening
Irregular heartbeat
Bleeding in the lining around the heart (cardiac tamponade)
Difficulty breathing
Fluid buildup around the heart (pericardial effusion)
For all types of mesothelioma, certain symptoms indicate that the cancer has spread. These signs appear in locations other than where the cancer began. The most common metastatic symptoms are:
Coughing or spitting up blood (hemoptysis)
Injury to one or both of the nerves attached to the voice box (laryngeal nerve palsy)
Nerve malfunction in arms
Neurological syndromes
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