What Is Pericardial Mesothelioma

Pericardial mesothelioma is an extremely rare form of asbestos cancer that develops in the pericardium a membrane that lines the heart.

What is pericardial mesothelioma. The diagnosis is also challenging and often requires a combination of imaging echocardiogram and a biopsy. Tumors first form in the lining of the heart pericardium. To date less than 150 cases of pericardial mesothelioma are described in medical literature that s 1 percent of all known diagnosed mesotheliomas. Pericardial mesothelioma is often not diagnosed until an autopsy is performed.

Pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer that begins in the membranes mesothelium that surround the heart the pericardium it is a very rare tumor with nonspecific symptoms such as chest pain that can easily be confused with other causes. Mesothelioma of the pericardium is extremely rare. Pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest form of asbestos caused cancer. Many of our clients are suffering from mesothelioma but the more common type of mesothelioma is pleural the lining of the lung or peritoneal the stomach lining.

It is one of the rarest forms of mesothelioma accounting for 1 2 of all diagnoses. Pericardial mesothelioma is so rare that exact numbers of cases are unknown. Some estimates put it at only 200 reported diagnoses ever. Pericardial mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that affects the lining of the heart.