The symptoms for mesothelioma don't change much, if at all, based on the type of cell characterizing the malignancy. Sarcomatoid cells are one of two types - epithelioid being the other - that can be the basis for any type of mesothelioma. Biphasic mesothelioma is a form of the disease that has both sarcomatoid and epithelioid cells within the malignant tissue. While sarcomatoid cells are very different structurally from the more common epithelioid cells and while they respond differently to treatments, the symptoms of the disease remain the same.
Sarcomatoid Pleural Mesothelioma Symptoms
Pleural mesothelioma is by far the most common form of the disease, accounting for fifty to sixty percent of all cases. It rises in the tissue surrounding the lungs and shares early symptoms with more familiar lung afflictions including bronchitis, pneumonia, and lung cancer. These include a dry, persistent cough; chest pain or pressure within the chest; shortness of breath; and the inability to engage in strenuous physical activity.
Pleural effusion is also a common symptom of sarcomatoid mesothelioma in the chest cavity. This condition is caused by the development of excess fluid in the area outside the lungs, commonly beneath them. Normally there is a small amount of fluid separating the lungs from the chest wall; pleural effusion is an uncontrolled increase in this fluid that causes pressure on the lungs and associated pain.
Sarcomatoid Peritoneal Mesothelioma Symptoms
This form of the disease develops in the abdominal cavity. The peritoneum is a membrane that lines the abdominal wall. When mesothelioma develops in this tissue it swells, causing pressure on nearby organs. The result is often a swollen abdomen combined with abdominal pain. It is not unusual for gastrointestinal problems to develop as the result of pressure on the lower intestine or migration of the disease to the colon or intestinal tract.
Excess fluid or effusion can also develop in the abdomen, contributing to the swelling, the pressure, and the discomfort. Additional symptoms caused by the thickened membrane and the tumors include fatigue, anemia, and nausea or vomiting. Sarcomatoid peritoneal mesothelioma may develop as a single malignant mass rather than the diffuse spread of small tumors that characterizes epithelioid mesothelioma. The larger mass can add to the abdominal swelling more readily than an array of small tumors.
Sarcomatoid Pericardial Mesothelioma Symptoms
This is the rarest form of the disease, occurring in five percent or fewer of all cases. Pericardial mesothelioma develops in the tissue sac surrounding the heart, known as the pericardium. When this membrane begins thickening as the result of malignancy it puts pressure on the heart that leads to symptoms very similar to those of heart disease. The heart develops an irregular beat; and symptoms such as edema and nausea may develop as a result of the pressure caused by the thickened membrane. Effusion or fluid accumulation is also common with this form of mesothelioma.
1. Malignant Mesothelioma, American Cancer Society, Signs and Symptoms of Mesothelioma
2. Primary Malignant Mesothelioma of the Pericardium, Thomason et al, Texas Heart Institute Journal, 1994
3. Epidemiology of peritoneal mesothelioma: a review. P. Boffetta et al, Annals of Oncology, 2007
