Guest Editor
Chuong D. Hoang, MD, Section of Thoracic Surgery, National Institutes of Health – National Cancer Institute, CCR and The Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
The most common form of malignant mesothelioma is that affecting the pleura. Mesothelioma, despite being considered a relatively rare tumor, appears to be more common now reversing previous worldwide predictions of a disease plateau and eventual decreased burden. In fact, the future prevalence of this pleural cancer is predicted to be increasing, raising concerns for a serious burgeoning international public health problem (1). Several industrialized nations are still without country-wide, legislative total bans on the production and use of asbestos such as China, India and the United States.
