In Italy it represents 0.4% of all malignancies diagnosed in men and 0.2% of those diagnosed in women. The study was born from the collaboration between ENEA, CNR and the "Federico II" University of Naples Mesothelioma is a tumor that arises from the cells that line the mesothelium. It is a fabric that covers the surface of the serous membranes which, in turn, line the inner wall of the chest, abdomen and space around the heart. Depending on the affected area, the mesothelium takes on different names. The main risk factor for this disease is exposure to asbestos. This term indicates a family of minerals rather common in nature with a fibrous structure very resistant to heat. Its fibers, if inhaled, settle in the lungs and can damage the mesothelial cells causing, in some cases, pleural cancer. Other less common risk factors are exposure to zeolites with erionitis, radiation to the chest and abdomen, thorium injections (used in medicine until 1950). According
Cancer can start anywhere in the body. Malignant mesothelioma is cancer that begins in the linings of certain parts of the body. This cancer occurs more often in the lining of the chest or abdomen (belly). It occurs when cells in the lining grow out of control and outnumber normal cells. This makes it difficult for the body to function the way it should. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells in the lining can sometimes travel to nearby organs and tissues and grow there. When cancer cells spread, what is known as a metastasis occurs. For doctors, the cancer cells at the new site are identical to those in the lining. Cancer is always named after the place where it started. Therefore, when mesothelioma in the chest spreads to the spine (or anywhere else), it is still called mesothelioma. It can only be called bone cancer if it has started from cells in the bones of the spine. Different types of mesothelioma Pleural mesothelioma begins in the chest (ch