What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a unique cancer that starts from the mesothelium, the membrane lining that contains the body cavities. Mesothelioma can arise from the pleura (lining of the lungs), pericardium (sac around the heart), peritoneum (abdominal lining), and tunica vaginalis testis (lining of the male reproductive organs). The majority of mesothelioma cases originate from the pleura.

Epidemiology and Cause of Mesothelioma

This is part 2 of my round table case discussion with Dr. Anne Tsao, a medical oncologist and thoracic oncology expert from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and Dr. Alex Farivar, a thoracic surgeon with expert training in mesothelioma at Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle. This particular case covers a patient with a mesothelioma, cancer of the lining around the lung, which is also known as malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Here is the audio and video versions of the podcast, along with the transcript and figures.

[powerpress]

We haven't covered this on OncTalk yet, but it's a real shortcoming that I haven't discussed malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Although it's not exactly lung cancer, it's another chest cancer that is often managed by thoracic oncology specialists like myself, and the only reason I haven't introduced it until now is that it's such an unusual cancer, accounting for just 2000-3000 cases each year in the US.