Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the cells lining the abdominal cavity. Peritoneal mesothelioma represents about one fifth to one third of all forms of mesothelioma and is a rapidly fatal malignancy with a median survival of less than 1 year. A small percentage of patients have a history of asbestos exposure, sometimes called chrysotile peritoneal mesothelioma, but a search for other cancer-causing agents continues. Traditional treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and combined approaches utilizing multiple types of therapy (multimodality).