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Mesothelioma (malignant) - Symptom

Alternative Names

Malignant mesothelioma

Symptoms:

Symptoms may not appear until 20 - 50 years or longer after exposure to asbestos, and may include:

Signs and tests:

Mesotheliomas are often hard to diagnose under the microscope. It can be hard to distinguish between this type of tumor and other conditions and tumors of the pleura. More than one specialist may be involved in examining the biopsy. It may take some time for the diagnosis to be made.

Respiratory system

Reviewed last on: 9/4/2008
Sean O. Stitham, MD, private practice in Internal Medicine, Seattle, Washington; and James R. Mason, MD, Oncologist, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Stem Cell Processing Lab, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

West SSD, Lee YCG. Management of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2006;27:335-354.

Camacho LH, Mora-Bowen A, Munden R, Smythe WR, Ordoñez NG. Malignant mesothelioma: natural history, pathologic features and future therapies. Am J Med. 2007;120:e7-9.

Mason RJ, Murray J, VC Broaddus, Nadel J. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2005:1994-2002.

Grainger RC, Allison D, Adam, Dixon AK. Diagnostic Radiology: A Textbook of Medical Imaging. 4th ed. Orlando, Fl: Churchill Livingstone; 2001:339-341; 514-515.

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