Pericardial Mesothelioma – Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Pericardial Mesothelioma - Complete Overview

Pericardial mesothelioma is characterized by the formation of cancerous cells (and tumors) in the protective lining of heart which is called pericardium. This proliferation of cancerous cells in pericardium is caused by asbestos fibers lodged between its cells for more than one decade. These fibers are said to be traveled from lungs to heart through bloodstream. After passing one or two decades these asbestos fibers start causing irritation and inflammation in pericardial cells and make them cancerous in nature. These cancerous cells start dividing rapidly to increase in number which results in the thickening of pericardium. This thickening leads to fluid formation in chest cavity which creates pressure on heart and patient starts showing symptoms for having something wrong inside his body.

Symptoms of Pericardial Mesothelioma

When cancerous cells proliferate rapidly and built up fluid in surrounding area, it puts pressure on heart and patient starts showing following symptoms.

Heart Palpitations (Arrhythmia)
Chest pain
Difficult Breathing (Dyspnea)
Cough
Murmurs
Fever
Night Sweats
Fatigue

Pericardial mesothelium symptoms resemble with that of other heart problems which creates difficulties in mesothelioma diagnosis. Therefore in case of pericardial mesothelioma doctors has to take a variety of tests to confirm the presence of this silent killer inside human heart.

How to Diagnose Pericardial Mesothelioma?

Due to the non-specificity of its symptoms pericardial mesothelioma is hard to diagnose. Initial diagnosis includes complete analysis of patient’s medical history and thorough physical examination. Further steps involve using imaging techniques like MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT scan in order to take cross-sectional images of inner body parts. If these diagnostic techniques do not give clear clue about the problem going on then biopsy is suggested to take sample of fluid from pericardium. This sample is tested into laboratory to confirm the presence of cancerous cells.

How to Treat Pericardial Mesothelioma?

Normally the options of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and cancer surgery are considered to treat the patient of mesothelioma but in case of pericardial mesothelioma which is a critical condition due to the proximity to heart and patient’s poor health condition, patient is not considered a good candidate for surgery. Therefore palliative treatment options are preferred to treat pericardial mesothelioma which includes measures to improve the quality of life of suffering person.