Mesothelioma Histology

Cancer specialists can uncover important microscopic features of your disease with the science of histology. These features play an important role in diagnosis, treatment and your life expectancy.


Histology is a branch of biology and medicine that involves the study of the cells and tissues of animals and plants. Samples of tissue are stained on a slide and observed under a microscope to study the structure and composition of each cell. Mesothelioma histology is the study of the various types of mesothelioma cells. The study of diseased cells, such as those found in tumors, is a branch of histology called histopathology. Trained medical doctors, usually board-certified pathologists, examine the tumor tissue under a microscope and classify cells by type.
There are several types of mesothelioma cancer cells. Each cellular type responds to different treatments and affects the individual patient's prognosis, so an accurate diagnosis of cancer cell type is essential to develop an effective treatment plan. After treatment is administered, studying tissue samples can also provide insight on the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs and other treatments.
Histology also helps prevent mesothelioma misdiagnosis. For example, peritoneal cancer in women and ovarian cancer can be difficult to differentiate without analyzing the cell type through histology. If patients are pursuing legal action against an asbestos-producing company that may have caused their cancer, a misdiagnosis can also negatively affect their chances of obtaining compensation.

Cell Types

When specifically examining a tumor sample for the presence of mesothelioma, a histopathologist will carefully inspect the sample for three types of cells:

Epithelial cells appear most often in these tumors, and this subtype accounts for 50 to 70 percent of all cases. These cells, which are uniform and sharply defined, feature prominent nuclei and often form complex branching patterns.

These spindle-shaped sarcomatoid cells typically lack strong characteristics and occur in approximately 10 to 20 percent of reported cases. While they are the most aggressive cell type, they are also the least common of the disease's cell types.

Malignant mesothelioma is considered biphasic when both epithelial and sarcomatoid cells are present and each type accounts for at least 10 percent of the tumor's mass. Biphasic (mixed) cells are present in 20 to 35 percent of all malignant cases.