| |

Combining Cytology and Immunology for a Less Invasive Mesothelioma Diagnosis

ByHolly Zink

Combining Cytology and Immunology for a Less Invasive Mesothelioma Diagnosis An invasive surgical or tissue biopsy is often required to get a definitive mesothelioma diagnosis. But a new hybrid exam might offer an alternative for mesothelioma patients. It involves the combination of cytology and immunology.

Cytology tests look at the cells in body fluids. It is the analysis of a patient’s cells under a microscope. And immunology is the study of the immune system. Together, these two areas of science provide new hope for mesothelioma patients.

The Tokyo Medical University in Japan has been looking into advanced diagnostic options. They believe that a combination of cytology and immunology methods can lead to a definitive diagnosis.

This is good news for mesothelioma patients. It will mean a quicker mesothelioma diagnosis without invasive surgery.

Understanding Mesothelioma Cells

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer. It develops from cells of the mesothelium, the lining that covers many of the internal organs of the body.

Malignant mesothelioma is classified into three general types. Understanding a patient’s mesothelioma type is important. Certain treatments help certain types of mesothelioma. The three types of are epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic.

A diagnosis of the epithelioid type of pleural mesothelioma is found by surgical or tissue biopsy. But mesothelioma patients are often elderly. And invasive surgical and tissue biopsies are painful and difficult.

Updating Old Methods with New Science

If a doctor suspects cancer, a cytology test may be ordered. But using cytology exams alone to diagnose mesothelioma is a risky practice. Misdiagnosis of mesothelioma may delay proper treatment and negatively impact survival.

Clinicians mostly agree that a cytological exam alone is unreliable. The cytology features of malignant pleural mesothelioma are not always clear. This is where immunology can make cytological exams better.

A hybrid cytological and immunology exam may offer a better alternative. A cytological exam of pleural fluid is far less invasive and can be more easily performed.

Immunology plays an important role in determining epithelioid malignant mesothelioma from other tumors. Immunology enhances cytological exams by telling the clinician exactly what to look for.

Early and accurate diagnosis of mesothelioma is critical for the best outcomes. Mesothelioma does not respond to most standard cancer treatments. Early and accurate diagnosis allows doctors to start the best treatments as early as possible.

Source

Akira, O., H. Hiroshi, M. Wakiya, Y. Ito, and W. Yoshie. “Malignant mesothelioma: Cytological features.” Open J Clin Med Images 2, no. 1 (2022): 1039. https://jclinmedimages.org/articles/OJCMI-v2-1039.pdf

Similar Posts

Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible
|

Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible

ByAlex Strauss

An international team of researchers is studying the proteins found on the surface of cancer cells in an effort to improve mesothelioma diagnosis. The team, made up of scientists from the US, Switzerland, Italy and Chile, has just published their findings on a new kind of test to identify protein-derived mesothelioma biomarkers in blood serum. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the membranes around organs. Because the most common mesothelioma biomarker, mesothelin, is also overproduced by other kinds of cancer cells, it has only limited diagnostic value. A test to identify a set of proteins produced specifically by mesothelioma cells could greatly improve diagnostic accuracy. Led by Ferdinando Cerciello and Bernd Wollscheid of the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology in…

Needle Biopsy “Simple, Safe & Accurate” for Mesothelioma
| |

Needle Biopsy “Simple, Safe & Accurate” for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma researchers in China say a biopsy method that involves a single skin puncture can produce good diagnostic results for mesothelioma patients with little pain or risk. The study focused on percutaneous (through the skin) biopsy in patients who had unexplained fluid buildup or swelling in their abdomens. Abdominal distension and fluid buildup (called ascites) can be signs of peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer of the abdominal lining caused by exposure to asbestos. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for less than 30% of all mesothelioma cases. Because the symptoms may be vague and often develop many decades after asbestos exposure, peritoneal mesothelioma can be especially challenging to diagnose.  Misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis are not uncommon. In the newest study on percutaneous…

Inflammation Both “Friend and Foe” in Mesothelioma
| |

Inflammation Both “Friend and Foe” in Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

An immune system response that causes mesothelioma symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and weight loss may also be helpful to clinicians as a way to find and treat the disease. Scientists with The Asbestos Diseases Research Institute in Sydney, Australia make that case that both systemic inflammation (throughout the body) and at the site of a tumor – has long been associated with mesothelioma and other cancers. Inflammation results when the body attempts to address the imbalances of cancer by producing more of certain immune system cells. Some inflammatory markers, such as CD+8 T-cells and C-reactive protein, have been linked to better prognosis in mesothelioma. Other inflammatory markers, such as certain macrophages and a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, can signal the…

FDG PET-CT Results Could Lead to Improved Mesothelioma Treatment
| |

FDG PET-CT Results Could Lead to Improved Mesothelioma Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

In a recent study, researchers say a better understanding of certain diagnostic criteria could result in more targeted treatments for malignant mesothelioma. In a recent published report, doctors from the medical school at Dicle University in Diyarbakir, Turkey measured the relationship between PET-CT scan results and survival in 177 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The patients were diagnosed between April 2007 and April 2011. They had a mean age of 55.4 and most (56%) were male. Patients in the study all had FDG PET-CT scans before beginning their mesothelioma treatment. FDG PET-CT scanning is a powerful imaging tool for mesothelioma and other cancers that combines a radioactive tracer with a combination of positron emission tomography and computed tomography scanning.  Because…

Macrophages May Hold Key to Fighting Mesothelioma
| |

Macrophages May Hold Key to Fighting Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in Western Australia are investigating new ways of bolstering the immune system in an effort to fight cancers like mesothelioma. Like most types of cancer, malignant mesothelioma occurs primarily in people over 65. That is also the time in life when the immune system typically weakens. Researchers from Curtin University and the University of Western Australia say it is no coincidence that people become more susceptible to mesothelioma as their immunity wanes. In addition to age-related immune dysfunction, mesothelioma patients experience a further decline in immunity caused by the growing tumor itself. To better understand the connection between declining immunity and the onset of mesothelioma, the researchers are focusing on a particular type of immune system cell called a macrophage….

Mesothelioma Surgeons Report New Biopsy Technique
| |

Mesothelioma Surgeons Report New Biopsy Technique

ByAlex Strauss

A team of surgeons in Maryland have demonstrated how using a standard biopsy tool in a new way could improve the biopsy process for certain mesothelioma patients. An aggressive cancer of the pleural lining around the lungs, malignant pleural mesothelioma usually requires a tissue biopsy to make a definitive diagnosis. Often this is done using a rigid tool called a thoracoscope inserted into the chest wall while the patient is under general anesthesia. However, mesothelioma doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center detail the case of a 79-year-old suspected mesothelioma patient whose biopsy was done in a minimally-invasive way, under conscious sedation, thanks to the novel use of a standard tool. Although the patient had several of the common signs…