What is mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is benign or malignant sarcomas that arise from the mesothelial lining that covers the serous membranes of the pleura, peritoneum and pericardium. The incidence of mesotheliomas occurring in the pleura is highest accounting for 80%. The occurrence for mesotheliomas in the peritoneum is 5%. The rarest occurrence is in the pericardium with only 0.4 % being the primary sight. Mesotheliomas are related to past occupational asbestos exposures. The asbestos exposures may have been a short duration of 1 to 2 years occurring 20 to 25 years in the past with a peak incidence of 35 to 40 years. Mesotheliomas present in the fifth to seventieth decades of life. Males are 3 to 5 times more likely to present with mesotheliomas then are females. There is no racial predilection of disease development. The mortality rate is less than 5% for 5 years.