Cancer Information

Posts Tagged ‘mesothelioma’

Mesothelioma has been declared recently as disease notifiable. This term means that the doctor who diagnosed the disease in the patient must inform the health authorities. The objective of this decree is to better understand this rare type of cancer by identifying the causes.
A rare cancer

Mesothelioma is a cancer often located in the peritoneum. The National Cancer Institute (INCA) claims to have identified between 800 and 1200 cases of mesothelioma each year. These figures represent only 0.3% of all cancers .

Exposure to asbestos at work is the main cause of this cancer. It is good to know that asbestos is a highly toxic mineral used in building construction.
The objectives

The National Mesothelioma Surveillance uses this order to try to identify risk factors for mesothelioma other than asbestos exposure in order to strengthen their program of surveillance and prevention. Physicians must complete a form available at the INVS to report a case of mesothelioma.

The easiest way to understand the difference between lung cancer and mesothelioma is that lung cancer is in the lung tissue, while pleural mesothelioma occurs in the layer of tissue that covers the outside of the lung.

Smoking is considered the primary cause of lung cancer and asbestos as the primary cause of mesothelioma. Asbestos can also cause lung cancer. Smoking does not cause mesothelioma. People who have been exposed to asbestos and also smoke have up to 90 times more likely to be affected with lung cancer than those who do not smoke.

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Nicotine potentiates the carcinogenic effect of other substances from smoke snuff and the effects of carcinogens in the environment.

Nicotine acts on the mechanism of apoptosis, or cell death, preventing the cells to commit suicide. When it comes to cancer cells does the same thing which causes or encourages the formation of lung cancer.

In addition to snuff, there are other substances mentioned above which are listed now:

Asbestos: people who work with asbestos are seven times more likely to develop cancer than those who do not maintain contact with it. These people have a type of cancer called mesothelioma, which occurs in the pleura. In recent years, governments have banned the use of this material for commercial and industrial products. When combined with asbestos exposure to smoking, it increases their chances of getting cancer from 50 to 90 times.

Cancer-causing agents in the workplace: an occupational risk group are the miners. They work with materials that, when inhaled, can damage your lungs. Such substances are radioactive minerals such as uranium, and workers exposed to chemicals such as arsenic, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, coal based products, mustard gas and chloromethyl ethers. People working in these conditions should be careful to avoid exposure to these agents.

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