Mesothelioma clinical symptoms

Mesothelioma clinical symptoms

Many people who have clinical symptoms of mesothelioma have advanced disease at diagnosis. This is because the symptoms tend to present late in most cases. Most people have symptoms of only two or three months before a diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma is made. About a quarter of all patients with malignant mesothelioma have symptoms for at least six months before diagnosis.

A high index of suspicion is required to make a timely diagnosis of MM. This is because many of the clinical symptoms are observed in other conditions. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma, such as coughing, chest pain and shortness of breath, are also seen in a number of other conditions, such as chest infections, emphysema and lung cancer. Similarly, the symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma, such as nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite, can be seen in a series of abdominal and systemic conditions. Anyone who has these symptoms, accompanied by a history of exposure to asbestos, should consult a doctor to be evaluated by MM.

Doctors use the symptoms that patients report to determine which tests are needed to confirm a suspected diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. If the patient has symptoms related to the chest mainly, a chest X-ray, computerized tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance and other images techniques can be used to find any abnormality that suggest MM. Then a pleural biopsy may be performed. There are some relatively new tests that can help differentiate pleural mesothelioma from lung cancer, this differentiation is sometimes difficult because the symptoms are so similar. If a patient presents with most abdominal symptoms, abdominal images techniques and biopsies can be used to confirm the diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma.