Malignant Mesothelioma in HIV patents & Malignant Mesothelioma related to asbestos

Malignant Mesothelioma in HIV patents & Malignant Mesothelioma related to asbestos
Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the chest or abdominal cavity. It is poorly responsive to chemotherapy, and surgical intervention is rarely curative. Treatment of mesothelioma patients, therefore, often focuses on the management of symptoms. The pain that can accompany malignant mesothelioma � especially during the end-stage of the disease � is one of the major challenges facing patients and their doctors.

Malignant mesothelioma, linked strongly to asbestos exposure, is a cancer that arises in the thin, membranous tissue that forms the lining of the chest cavity and lungs. More rarely it starts in the lining of the abdominal cavity. In either case, pain is a chief symptom.

A reported 60 to 90 percent of mesothelioma patients experience pain or shortness of breath as the first symptom of the disease. However, anesthesiologists and other health care workers who specialize in pain control are providing more relief than ever before, thanks to state-of-the-art pain management techniques, including implanting devices which deliver pain-fighting drugs directly to the central nervous system.

When malignant mesothelioma originates in the pleural cavity, the first symptom may be a nagging discomfort or mild pain in the chest area or in the back। If it originates in the lining of abdominal cavity, the first symptom is abdominal or pelvic discomfort.
As the disease progresses and destroys soft tissue and nearby nerves, the patient experiences the most discomfort.

Eventually, when cancer spreads, it grows into the chest wall, muscles and ribs causing destruction and severe pain

The pain changes from mild, general and episodic to severe, localized and chronic as the disease progresses. Severe pain may be unresponsive to oral doses, intravenous infusions, or intramuscular injections of analgesics or narcotics.

There are postulates describing the development of malignant mesothelioma related to HIV immune suppression or HIV and/or cytomegalovirus or zidovudine and is a complication of AIDS similar to the development of other malignant neoplasms in patients with AIDS. Search google for more information.