Causes Of Pleural Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma had very little medicinal acknowledgment until the 1900s. It was during this century that medical researchers discovered the main cause of the disease: exposure to asbestos. As industries all over the world expanded their use of asbestos, the rates of mesothelioma climbed drastically higher. Studies were published, proving the inhalation or swallowing of microscopic asbestos fibers could start chain reactions leading to different cancers. Though asbestos is overwhelmingly the primary cause of pleural mesothelioma, there are some rare cases where the disease is unrelated to it. This is a breakdown of the leading causes of the disease, from asbestos exposure to rarer ones.

Asbestos

Every kind of asbestos causes pleural mesothelioma, regardless of the length of the fibers. Anyone exposed to it has an increased risk factor for developing mesothelioma. You might have been exposed in an asbestos mine or a processing plant that worked with the material. High-risk occupations like heavy machinery industries or construction work have increased exposure. If you lived in or served on any buildings constructed using asbestos, or if you lived near a contaminated site, you're at risk. Another potential exposure is when asbestos products are disturbed in a home renovation, and proper safety measures have not been taken.

After asbestos is inhaled, it's common for the body to have trouble disposing of the fibers, and even microscopic fibers can build up in a person's abdomen or lungs. They stay there for many years without causing trouble, but over time, they can cause cancer, which begins in the mesothelial cells protecting the heart, abdomen, and lungs.

Minerals Resembling Asbestos

In a great deal of non-asbestos cases, the cause is minerals resembling asbestos. These minerals are structurally comprised in a similar format, leading to the name 'asbestiform minerals.' Two examples of these minerals are winchite and richterite.

Asbestiform minerals aren't the only other minerals associated with pleural mesothelioma. There's an iron formation called taconite, as well as a zeolite mineral, referred to as erionite. When erionite is the cause, the victim usually had a genetic predisposition to developing the disease. In cases where other materials are the cause, the general progression of the disease remains the same. The particles build up in the lungs and other parts of the body over time, because the body has difficulty getting rid of them. This contamination can lead to the mesothelial cells becoming cancerous.