Stage I of the Butchart mesothelioma staging system is characterized by the presence of mesothelioma on only one side of the chest pleura only. The chest pleura are the cellular linings that envelop and protect the inside of the thoracic cavity (chest wall) and the lungs themselves. This lining takes the form of a cellular membrane (the mesothelium), which produces a fluid that lubricates and cushions the lungs. Stage I of the Butchart mesothelioma staging system is characterized by the presence of mesothelioma on only one side of the chest pleura only.
The chest pleura are the cellular linings that envelop and protect the inside of the thoracic cavity (chest wall) and the lungs themselves. This lining takes the form of a cellular membrane (the mesothelium), which produces a fluid that lubricates and cushions the lungs.
In cases of mesothelioma, the cellular DNA of the mesothelium is damaged by exposure to asbestos fibers; these damaged cells become malignant (cancerous) and grow uncontrollably, producing excess fluid along with anomalous cellular masses (tumors) within the pleura that spread malignant cells into other tissues.
For unknown reasons, this process tends to affect one side of the thoracic cavity only in the earliest days of the disease track, and it is this aspect of the disease that defines Butchart Stage I mesothelioma.
