Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0000737 (abdominal pain)
 31,184 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Malignant mesothelioma has been rare in the general population. In recent decades its incidence has risen dramatically, parallel to the increasing use of asbestos in industry since 1930. Altogether 17,800 asbestos insulation workers, members of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers (AFL-CIO-CLC) in the United States and Canada, were enrolled for prospective study on 1 January 1967 and followed up to the present. Every death that occurs is investigated by our laboratory. One hundred and seventy five deaths from mesothelioma occurred among the 2221 men who died in 1967-76 and 181 more such deaths in the next eight years. Altogether, 356 workers had died of malignant mesothelioma (pleural or peritoneal) by 1984. Diagnosis of mesothelioma was accepted only after all available clinical, radiological, and pathological material was reviewed by our laboratory and histopathological confirmation by the pathology unit made in each case. One hundred and thirty four workers died of pleural and 222 of peritoneal mesothelioma. Age at onset of exposure, age at onset of the disease, and age at death were similar in both groups of patients. Significant difference was noted only in the time elapsed from onset of exposure to the development of first symptoms, which was longer in the group with peritoneal mesothelioma. Shortness of breath, either new or recently increased, and chest pain were the most frequent presenting symptoms in the group with pleural mesothelioma; abdominal pain and distension were frequent in the patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. Pleural effusion or ascites were found in most patients. The most effective approach to the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma in these cases was by open lung biopsy; exploratory laparotomy was best for diagnosing peritoneal mesothelioma. Patients with pleural mesothelioma died principally from pulmonary insufficiency whereas those with peritoneal mesothelioma succumbed after a period of pronounced wasting.
 ...
PMID:Malignant mesothelioma in a cohort of asbestos insulation workers: clinical presentation, diagnosis, and causes of death. 334 94

Peritoneal mesothelioma is an unusual disease which diffusely involves the peritoneal surface. The incidence is approximately one per 1,000,000, and one fifth to one third of all mesothelioma are peritoneal in origin. Asbestos exposure is linked to the development of peritoneal mesothelioma as a significant etiology, but further investigation should be conducted. Abdominal sonography, abdominal CT and cytologic examination of ascitic fluid are used to confirm the diagnosis, but rarely provides proper diagnosis. Laparoscopy with biopsy is the most common diagnostic method for definite diagnosis of mesothelioma. Cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy have been suggested for better survival since the median survival after the initial diagnosis is near to 50 months. This report describes a case of 73-years-old male patient presented with abdominal pain and distension. This patient had not been exposed to asbestos. Abdominal sonography and CT showed massive ascites, multiple omental masses and peritoneal thickening. It was difficult to distinguish peritoneal mesothelioma from carcinomatosis. Laparoscopy and peritoneal biopsy was conducted and immunostaining examination confirmed the diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma.
 ...
PMID:[A case of peritoneal mesothelioma without a history of asbestos exposure]. 1655 77

Mesothelioma is a neoplasm originating from the mesothelial surface lining cells of the serous human cavities. It may involve the pleura, less frequently the peritoneum rarely, the pericardium, the tunica vaginalis testis and ovarian epithelium. Asbestos has been widely used in industry. A causal relationship between asbestos exposure and pleural, peritoneal and pericardial malign mesothelioma was suggested, the risk of cancer being correlated to cumulate exposure. Studies from National Cancer Institute, USA, show that the malignant mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive asbestos related malignancy. The symptomatology is insidious and poses difficult problems in diagnosis and treatment. This paper presents the case of a 59 year old patient with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma who worked almost 40 years as an electrician, exposed to asbestos fibers. He was hospitalized for important weight loss, abdominal pain and tiredness being diagnosed after imaging tests with a giant tumor, localized at the abdominal upper level, which seems to originate from the spleen's superior pole. During surgery we discovered a tumor with cystic parts, intense vascularized, which turn to be adherent in the upper side to the lower face of the left midriff cupola, to the spleen superior pole and 1/3 middle level of the great gastric curve. It was performed surgical ablation of the tumor, splenectomy with favorable postoperative evolution, the patient being now under chemotherapy treatment.
 ...
PMID:[Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma]. 1728 42

Mesotheliomas are aggressive and lethal neoplasms arising from mesothelial cells lining the pleura, peritoneum, tunica vaginalis testis and pericardium. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for about 30% of all mesotheliomas. Asbestos is the main known cause of the disease. Presenting symptoms in these patients include: ascites, abdominal pain, asthenia, weight loss, anorexia, abdominal mass, fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, computed tomography scan, echotomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and laparoscopy are used in diagnosis and follow-up. Chemotherapy alone is considered as a palliative treatment for these patients who are not eligible for radical surgery. The most promising non-surgical approach today in the management of peritoneal mesothelioma is the use of the combination chemotherapy regime of an antifolate (pemetrexed and raltitrexed) and a platinum based (cisplatin) agent with a median survival of about 12-14 months. Due to peritoneal confinement of malignant mesothelioma and low occurrence of metastasis, a locoregional approach consisting of cytoreductive surgery and perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy has been introduced as a curative treatment option over the last decade with an overall 5-year survival rate of 29-63%. In this locoregional approach, surgery can separate the adhesions and remove the bulky tumor, leaving microscopic residual tumors much more susceptible to the killing effect of chemotherapeutic drugs. Here in St. George hospital, cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (using cisplatin and doxorubicin) resulted in significant survival advantage. This article describes how the prognosis of the disease has changed over the last decade.
 ...
PMID:Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma--an update on treatment. 2210 79