The mesothelioma It is a rare, very aggressive tumor. He was the one who talked about it during the program “Che tempo che fa”. Franco Di Mare, former TV presenter and war correspondent, who announced that he is suffering from this disease. A malignant neoplasm most often associated with exposure to asbestos. Here’s what it’s exactly about.
The “forgotten” data on schools where there is still asbestos
The Ministry of Education cannot answer the question of Wired because he doesn’t have the numbers in his hands. According to estimates by Ona and Legambiente, there are still traces of asbestos in over 2,500 school buildings
What is malignant mesothelioma
It is a rare tumor that predominantly affects men: according to AIRC estimates, it represents 0.8% of all tumors diagnosed in men and 0.3 of those in women. As the name suggests, this tumor arises from the cells of the mesothelium, i.e. the membranes that cover the internal organs, including the heart and lungs. Among the different types of mesothelioma, the one that develops in the thoracic cavity is called pleural and is the most common type. In this case the symptoms are linked to the accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity (pleural effusion) and characterized by shortness of breath, cough, chest pain. To date, however, they do not exist screening tests to make an early diagnosis in those who do not yet have symptoms. “Often the diagnosis of this tumor arrives when the disease has already passed the initial stages and is now difficult to treat (the standard therapy is chemotherapy, ed.), therefore it is one of the tumors with a rarely positive prognosis”, add the experts. Just think that the 5 year survival from diagnosis it is only 8% of men and 10% of women.
Because in Italy we have returned to year zero regarding asbestos
Thirty years after the ban in Italy on carcinogenic mineral fibre, one of the most dangerous pollutants, what has been done? The mapping of contaminated sites remains incomplete, deaths caused by asbestos-related diseases are doubling. And reclamation is slow
The link with asbestos
The main risk factor for this neoplasm is theasbestos exposure, held responsible for 90% of cases. We remind you that asbestos is a material used mainly in the 70s/80s, very resistant to heat and composed of very thin fibers, over a thousand times more than a hair. These fibers, therefore, can be easily inhaled and become carcinogenic, damaging the cells of our body. If they reach the lungs they can cause asbestosis, preventing adequate expansion of the organ, lung cancer and, indeed, mesothelioma. “The latency periodi.e. the time between exposure to asbestos and the appearance of mesothelioma, is very long, around 40-50 years”the Airc specifies. “The risk increases as the duration of exposure and the amount of asbestos fibers inhaled increases.”
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Prevention, work and laws
The most effective measure to prevent mesothelioma is to avoid exposure to asbestos. The majority of cases, as recalled by the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), concern people who have come into contact with this material for work reasons (mines or factories) and this is why it is identified as a disease professional exposure. The danger of this material is recognized by the law of 27 March 1992, in which the prohibition extraction, import, export, marketing and production of asbestos. Furthermore, other laws concern environmental pollution, oblige us to verify its presence in public places and regulate its removal. Me too’environmental and domestic exposure (non-professional), in fact, can increase the risk of mesothelioma. For example, they explain from AIRC, “family members of workers exposed to asbestos are also at risk, since asbestos fibers can be deposited on clothing and be transported from the workplace to home, and in this case we speak of passive exposure”.
