Abdominal Cancer Mesothelioma

Abdominal cancers of the peritoneum may be mesothelioma which develops in the tissue lining the abdominal cavity. Though some cases of abdominal mesothelioma are believed to have resulted from radiation poisoning, the vast majority of incidents of abdominal mesothelioma have been caused by asbestos exposure. Typically abdominal mesothelioma appears sooner 30 to 50 years after asbestos exposure.

When abdominal or peritoneal mesothelioma does appear after its 'incubation', the most common symptoms are shortness of breath, chest and/or abdominal pain, weight loss, fever, coughing, and an unusual swelling of the abdomen.

When a doctor suspects abdominal cancer he will perform an MRI, CT Scan or X-Ray in order to obtain a view of the chest and abdominal cavities. If the peritoneum is congested with fluid, the doctor will typically conduct a "fine-needle aspiration", which means he will use a syringe to collect a sample of the fluid. The fluid will than be examined to determine whether or not mesothelioma is present. The "fine-needle aspiration" also allows the doctor to alleviate symptoms caused by fluid build up. If a diagnosis can not be determined from the fluid sample, than generally a tissue sample or a 'biopsy' will be taken.

Once abdominal mesothelioma has been diagnosed, the next step is determining how far the illness has progressed. This is done by studying the imaging of MRIs or CT Scans and is known by doctors as 'staging'. Doctors chart mesothelioma in five stages of development i.e. Stage I mesothelioma, Stage II mesothelioma, etc. Stages II through V are considered advanced mesothelioma and typically removal of the cancer is no longer an option. In general, mesothelioma is very difficult to treat. First its tumors appear in the membranes surrounding the chest cavity and abdominal cavity, than spread to the underlying organs. This type of growth makes a complete surgical removal of an abdominal mesothelioma tumor very unlikely.

Chemotherapy, radiation, or surgical treatment, when used alone, are often ineffective in treating abdominal mesothelioma. Combined approaches that utilize these therapies together, particularly using chemotherapy prior to surgery, as well as new drugs that specifically target the genetic material in mesothelioma cells, are currently being tested.

When traditional methods have failed or seem unlikely to work, clinical trials are sometimes an option for patients. Clinical trials are human research studies conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of new treatments. The treatments have already been tested in laboratories and have shown enough promise to be tested on humans. If a patient takes part in a clinical trial, he or she may benefit from a new technique while helping scientists evaluate its effectiveness.