Researchers at Ohio State University published new tips for a definitive mesothelioma diagnosis. The team says three different tools are important for getting the right answer.
One of the biggest challenges with mesothelioma is just getting a definitive diagnosis. Mesothelioma is closely associated with asbestos. But symptoms may not show up until decades after the exposure. This makes it difficult to link the cause and effect. When symptoms such occur, they are often attributed to other, less serious causes.
But a recent article in Diagnostic Cytopathology focuses on promising new diagnostic tips.
Tips on Using 3 Different Diagnostic Tools Together
For this case study, a single 63-year-old patient was used as an example. The team used a combination of tools to arrive at the diagnosis.
They used diagnostic criteria, WHO tumor classification updates, and immunohistochemical staining markers. Each of these tools has diagnostic value. And each was important to achieve an appropriate clinical diagnosis.
Diagnostic criteria and initial scans included a chest x-ray and a CT scan. The x-ray showed a right-sided pleural effusion and pleural thickening. Both are important signs of mesothelioma.
The WHO tumor classification pointed the clinicians towards mesothelioma in situ. There are four subtypes of mesothelioma. These are epithelioid, sarcomatoid, biphasic, and mesothelioma in situ.
Immunohistochemical staining markers are used to confirm the diagnosis. Immunostains are useful new tools that can distinguish between different mesothelioma subtypes. And they can also distinguish between different types of cancer.
Together, oncologists can use these three tools to diagnose mesothelioma accurately.
Source:
Shaker, Nada, Douglas Wu, and Abdul Majeed Abid. “Cytology of malignant pleural mesothelioma: Diagnostic criteria, WHO classification updates, and immunohistochemical staining markers diagnostic value.” Diagnostic Cytopathology (2022). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/dc.25053
