What are the symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma?
The latent period for peritoneal involvement appears to be slightly shorter, 20-30 years, as compared to pleural mesothelioma. Patients with peritoneal mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity) may experience abdominal pain and fullness in abdomen. They often present with increasing abdominal girth due to filling up of abdominal cavity with fluid (also known as ascites). It is not uncommon to see patients with digestive disturbances when bowel lining is affected by the disease. When the disease is widespread in the abdominal cavity, it may lead to bowel obstruction. Sometimes the disease is found incidentally when the patient is being investigated for another health problem such as gallbladder or appendix.
