Pleural mesothelioma is one of four types of mesothelioma but accounts for about 75 percent of all diagnoses of asbestos-related cancers. The disease forms in the pleura, the soft protective tissue surrounding the lungs, which can be attributed directly to its cause: repeated or heavy occupational exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.
Once inhaled into the lungs, asbestos fibers migrate to the pleural membrane, where they lodge. The body then struggles to get rid of the needle-like fibers. Over time, lodged fibers irritate the pleura and can cause chronic inflammation and scarring. Infrequently, they cause pleural mesothelioma. In the case of this cancer, asbestos triggers genetic changes in pleural cells. If the cells are cancerous, they divide uncontrolled, forming tumors.
The life expectancy of someone with the disease is four to 18 months, and about 80 percent of the people who contract pleural mesothelioma are older men, a result of the combination of workplace asbestos exposure and the disease's long latency period. The first signs someone has pleural mesothelioma can be a persistent cough and shortness of breath, the result of reduced lung capacity and excess fluid buildup between the pleural layers.
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