[breadcrumb]
The Relationship Between Mesothelioma and Eosinophilia
Eosinophilia, a condition marked by elevated white blood cells of a particular type, is a common symptom presented in autoimmune conditions and some cancers, including malignant pleural mesothelioma. At the same time, patients presenting eosinophilia and related pneumonia may be misdiagnosed as having mesothelioma in some cases.
The medical condition of eosinophilia refers to an unusually high level of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell that fights diseases and other pathogens[1]. Eosinophilia can be present in blood stream levels, or it can refer to elevated eosinophil levels within certain tissues.
Medical professionals often note eosinophilia within blood or tissue sample test results because it often indicates the presence of a pathogen or autoimmune condition. In most instances, eosinophilia does not present symptoms of its own.
However, a rare blood disorder known as Hypereosinophilic Syndrome, or HES, can create secondary symptoms[2]. Such symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, memory loss, confusion, fever, and mouth sores. These symptoms can create tissue damage and other medical issues on their own, even leading to patient death in extreme cases[3].
When physicians uncover a eosinophilia condition, they often use it as a marker for encouraging further diagnosis. Common underlying conditions leading to eosinophilia include parasitic diseases, fungal infections, the presence of toxins, autoimmune disorders, severe allergies, or the presence of tumors[4].
Eosinophilia has an association with malignant tumors, but such co-occuring conditions are actually quite rare. Between 0.5% and 1.7% of patients with malignant tumors may present eosinophilia[5].
Even still, malignant pleural mesothelioma is one of the malignant cancers where the development of eosinophilia has a strong association[6],[7]. Patients who have developed peripheral blood eosinophilia (PBE) often do so once their cancer metastasizes, indicating a poor prognosis[8].
Looking at the inverse relationship, some physicians may see the presence of eosinophilia as an indication of malignant cancers like mesothelioma if other underlying conditions are not detected[9]. Eosinophilia also often has a direct relationship to pleural effusions[10].
Patients with pleural mesothelioma and eosinophilia may be at an elevated risk for deep vein thrombosis, which refers to clotting within major blood vessels[11].
Because eosinophilia can be related to conditions that present similar symptoms to mesothelioma, a patient may occasionally be misdiagnosed with pleural mesothelioma when they in fact have eosinophilic pneumonia[12]. A tissue biopsy can often correct this discrepancy if no signs of malignancy are detected.
[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/eosinophilia/basics/definition/sym-20050752
[2] https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/related-conditions/hypereosinophilic-syndrome
[3] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypereosinophilic-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20352854
[4] https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/eosinophilia/basics/causes/sym-20050752
[5] http://www.remedypublications.com/respiratory-medicine/articles/pdfs_folder/jrmld-v2-id1012.pdf
[6] https://academic.oup.com/ajhp/article/69/5/377/5112846
[7] https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/med.2011.6.issue-5/s11536-011-0048-7/s11536-011-0048-7.pdf
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2390511/
[9] https://www.cancernetwork.com/lung-cancer/malignant-mesothelioma-pleural-space
[10] http://ispub.com/IJPM/1/1/5743
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2390511/
[12] https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(17)31972-4/pdf
