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- What is mesothelioma?
- Symptoms of mesothelioma
- Causes of mesothelioma
- Prevention of mesothelioma
- Risk factors for mesothelioma
- Complications of mesothelioma
- When to see a doctor about mesothelioma
- Diagnosis of mesothelioma
- Conventional treatment of mesothelioma
- Alternative/complementary treatment of mesothelioma
- Living with mesothelioma
- Caring for someone with mesothelioma
Asbestos
Most cases (up to around 90%) of the underlying cause of developing mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos.
There are currently two large clinical trials being conducted to try to find out more about the causes of mesothelioma and the role of asbestos in the development of this rare cancer. These studies are:
- Early Diagnosis of Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma in Prior Asbestos Workers
- Biomarkers to Detect Mesothelioma Early in Patients Exposed to Asbestos or Vermiculite
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Tremolite asbestos and fibrous erionite
A number of studies have shown that people in the Mediterranean regions of Corsica, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey as well as New Caledonian in the Pacific have all experienced epidemics of malignant mesothelioma due to non-occupational, “domestic” exposure to tremolite asbestos and fibrous erionite. The tremolite asbestos and fibrous erionite occur naturally in the soil in these areas ("white soil") which people have been using for whitewashing their houses and this is how they have been exposed to these substances.
Unknown
Approximately 10% of all cases of mesothelioma are due to unknown reasons, which means that the patient has not had any known exposure to asbestos and no other known carcinogen to trigger to development of the mesothelioma.
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