Abstract
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive malignancy of the pleural surface, predominantly caused by prior asbestos exposure. There is a global epidemic of malignant pleural mesothelioma underway, and incidence rates are predicted to peak in the next few years.
This article summarises the epidemiology and pathogenesis of malignant pleural mesothelioma, before describing some key factors in the patient experience and outlining common symptoms. Diagnostic approaches are reviewed, including imaging techniques and the role of various biomarkers. Treatment options are summarised, including the importance of palliative care and methods of controlling pleural effusions. The evidence for chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery is reviewed, both in the palliative setting and in the context of trimodality treatment. An algorithm for managing malignant pleural effusion in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients is presented. Finally new treatment developments and novel therapeutic approaches are summarised.
Abstract
This article on mesothelioma describes pathogenesis, symptoms, diagnostic approaches and treatment options http://ow.ly/cjkb305aQGz
Footnotes
Previous articles in this series: No. 1: Psallidas I, Kalomenidis I, Porcel JM, et al. Malignant pleural effusion: from bench to bedside. Eur Respir Rev 2016; 25: 189–198. No. 2: Bhatnagar R, Corcoran JP, Maldonado F, et al. Advanced medical interventions in pleural disease. Eur Respir Rev 2016; 25: 199–213. No. 3: Bintcliffe OJ, Lee GYC, Rahman NM, et al. The management of benign non-infectious pleural effusions. Eur Respir Rev 2016; 25: 303–316.
Support statement: N. Kanellakis has received a short-term fellowship from the European Respiratory Society (STRTF 2015-9508). K.G. Blythe is the recipient of an NHS Research Scotland Career Research Fellowship. N.A. Maskell has received an unrestricted research grant from CareFusion and has sat on the advisory board for CareFusion. I. Psallidas is the recipient of a European Respiratory Society Fellowship (RESPIRE2 – 2015–7160). Funding information for this article has been deposited with Open Funder Registry.
Conflict of interest: Disclosures can be found alongside this article at err.ersjournals.com
Provenance: Submitted article, peer reviewed.
- Received July 1, 2016.
- Accepted October 12, 2016.
- Copyright ©ERS 2016.
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