Malignant Ascites And Tumors

Ascites is an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen usually as a result of an imbalance of plasma in the blood and lymphatic vessels.  This is usually known as ‘abdominal dropsy’. Ascites is mostly seen in patients with cirrhosis of the liver heart diseases, nephrotic syndromes and pancreatic diseases.

Malignant ascites is a condition that is very common in patients living with some forms of tumor, especially tumors of the ovary, uterus, cervix, gastrointestinal tract and breast. Malignant ascites is somewhat different from the normal ascites in that in ascites the fluid collection in the abdomen is fluid from blood and lymphatic vessels with no relation to cancer or cancerous cells but in malignant ascites the accumulation of fluid in the abdomen is a buildup of fluid which has cancerous cells in them.  The presence of the cancerous cells in the fluid makes malignant ascites a situation to worry about more than as seen in a normal ascites.

The spread of cancerous cells into the abdominal cavity causes a dysregulation of the normal flow in the peritoneum in a lot of ways. This results in patients with malignant ascites having a poor prognosis or survival option especially as it affects the peritoneum. They usually die within 1 to 4 months, though this majorly depends on the type of and stage of the cancer of the person.

Presently there is yet no set down guide on how malignant tumor should be treated regardless of its high morbidity rate. The Available therapeutic methods of treatment have only palliative treatment and not cure of this condition, therefore they only relieve the symptoms temporarily. These palliative measures include, paracentesis (abdominal cavity puncture), intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

When malignant ascites develops it results from metastasis of cancer from other organs into the abdominal cavity. For examples cancer of the ovaries is a major cause of malignant ascites.  In some patients suffering from malignant ascites the primary tumor location is rarely known.

The cancer cells which infiltrate into the abdominal cavity disturbs the regulation of the flow of fluid and simultaneously cause a greater than normal plasma to flow in and decrease the lymphatic outflow in the cavity. The infiltrating cancer cells usually release vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which leads to formation of new tumor vessels.

The infiltrating tumor cells disrupt the normal regulation of fluid flow in the peritoneal cavity by causing a greater plasma inflow into the abdominal cavity, and a reduced lymphatic outflow. VEGF also cause an increase in permeability of the capillaries of the tumor as well as of the peritoneum. Therefore these new tumor vessels and vessels of the peritoneum contribute to increased fluid inflow into the abdomen.  VEGF does also block lymphatic channels which obstructs the lymphatic drainage system and fluid accumulation in the cavity.

Malignant ascites is a form of metastasis and it is generally known that the faster the metastasis the more dangerous to life, a metastasis in the peritoneum is one fast way for any cancer to be fatal in little time.

The treatment of malignant ascites is for temporary relieve as it does not have a permanent cure.

Malignant Ascites Symptoms And Treatment

Malignant ascites is a condition which occurs in people with breast, lung, colon and pancreas primary cancers, with peritoneal cancer developing. For a patient with malignant ascites the life expectancy is about a few months after beginning of the disease. Apart from ascites with cancerous origin another background cause of ascites is liver cirrhosis. Of all the complications of liver cirrhosis which are variceal hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy and ascites the most common is ascites.

The earliest symptom in ascites is increased abdominal girth which is with weight gain. Ascites is seen clinically as a distention in abdomen, flank dullness which is shifting in nature and edema in the lower limbs. There is usually bloated abdomen, feeling of fullness, nausea and vomiting (usually symptoms that accompany gastrointestinal disease) breathlessness and weakness. When patients are left on supine position for a long time sacral edema is noticed. When ascites is accompanied by pain malignancy is suspected as the cause of ascites.

Ultrasound examination of the abdomen is the most effective means of diagnosis of malignant ascites. It can detect as small as 100ml of fluid present in the abdominal cavity. Also about 10% of patients who has ascites often develop right side pleural effusion, hernias of inguinal or umbilicus may also follow ascites.

Ascites is often caused by proteinous exudates from cancer cells which line the peritoneum. Metastasis from liver by portal hypertension can also cause ascites. Portal vein thrombosis with underlying portal hypertension is also a cause of ascites.

Another method of diagnosis of this condition is full blood count which will show increase in blood components that will identify inflammation.

When malignant ascites is diagnosed treatment is required to begin to help the general state of the patient since these symptoms that come with ascites are discomforting to the patient. The treatment is not for the cure of the condition but to eliminate the symptoms and make the patient feel better.

Treatment of malignant ascites can be by the use of diuretics which reduces the quantity of fluid in the abdomen and also possibly control stomach bloating. The mostly used diuretic is spirolactone which not only removes water from the body but is a potassium sparing diuretic which makes it appropriate since it preserves the potassium of the body thereby retaining the normal potassium quantity required as much as possible. Another method of treatment is paracentesis which is the use of drainage by either a tube or a needle from the abdominal cavity. This method is effective in bringing relief to the patient but does not cure the disease also. Other means is diet by reducing water and sodium intake which helps the total fluid quantity in the abdominal cavity.

The prognosis of malignant ascites is poor; the patients live about 1to 4 months after the diagnosis of malignant ascites. The life expectancy of these patients is low because of the involvement of underlying primary cancer and the infection of the peritoneum whose general infection within a few days leads to toxic state and then death.

What Is Malignant Ascites?

Ascites is an accumulation of excess fluid in the abdominal cavity, which is usually as a result of blood and lymphatic vessels imbalance of plasma flow. Ascites is often seen in patients with liver cirrhosis, heart failure, kidney disease, pancreas disease and cancer.

National cancer institute (NCI) defines malignant ascites as a medical state which develop in patients with cancer when fluids containing cancerous cells accumulate in the abdomen. Malignant ascites frequently occurs in patients with ovarian, breast, uterine, colon, pancreatic and gastrointestinal tract cancer. Malignant ascites causes discomfort to the patient and upset their life quality. Therefore this condition requires treatment.

The clinical symptoms of malignant ascites are severe and constant abdominal pain, abdominal swelling, feeling of fullness (bloated stomach) and indigestion.  The fullness feeling often leads to appetite decrease, (less food consumption) while accumulation of fluid in the abdomen will lead to weight gain of the patient. The navel of the patient may also have some changes. There may be nausea and vomiting which may be due to indigestion; other abdominal symptoms may be seen such as shortness of breath especially during physical activity and fatigue. Swelling on the ankle joints and hemorrhoids are also common.

Diagnosis of malignant ascites is done by the doctors who takes the complaints of the patient and carry out an examination of the abdomen. To confirm diagnoses of malignant ascites, X-ray , CT (computed tomography)  scan , ultrasound and other  instrumental diagnosis may have to carried out.

Treatment of malignant ascites is aimed at reduction of the discomfort and distress of the symptoms that is presented with the disease. The treatment is achieved by reducing sodium and fluid intake. A remarkable reduction in the body’s fluid and salt levels obviously reduces the symptoms of malignant ascites. Diuretic drugs may help to reduce the amount of water in the body by increasing urine production and this may be useful in the control of abdominal bloating.

Other ways of treating malignant ascites is by different invasive methods. The first method is by paracentesis which involves using of a needle or tube to extract the abdominal fluid; this provides only a temporary relief. Since it is an invasive method the process causes discomfort. Another known invasive method is surgery, which is rarely performed. The surgical procedure involves making a shunt (a means by which the fluids of the body is passed through other means rather than the original passage way) or a catheter (which is a tube passed into the vein) to pump out the excess fluid retained in the abdomen.

In the treatment of malignant ascites since it is often caused by the presence of cancer and it is a collection of fluid in the abdomen filled with cancerous cells, its treatment is a palliative treatment (a type of treatment that is only aimed at giving the patient comfort or a better quality of life but not cure from the disease) and not a cure. Malignant ascites treatment anyway is useful to the patient as it brings comfort even if for a while.

Malignant Ascites Dot Com Welcomes You To Our Site Where You Will Be Able To Find All Kinds Of Information That You Need On The Subject Of Malignant Ascites. More Posts Coming Soon…