Mesothelioma is an asbestos-caused cancer of the membranes that surround many of the body’s vital organs. Mesothelioma is a diffuse malignancy and spreads itself throughout a tissue area. Some forms of cancer are characterized by a single, solid tumor mass, whereas malignant mesothelioma presents as an invasion of a large number of smaller masses throughout an entire area. The diffuse nature of mesothelioma has important implications for how mesothelioma is treated, as complete surgical extraction of the cancerous tissue is difficult.
