Albumin Levels May Help Predict Mesothelioma Survival
| | | | |

Albumin Levels May Help Predict Mesothelioma Survival

People with the lowest levels of the blood protein albumin are less likely to live beyond a year with malignant pleural mesothelioma. That is the finding of a team of Chinese researchers who say this abundant protein may offer one of the simplest ways to predict mesothelioma prognosis. Serum albumin is a globular protein whose primary function is to carry steroids, fatty acids and thyroid hormones in the blood. It makes up about 60% of the total mass of protein in blood plasma.  Researchers in the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Shandong University Hospital in China have found that serum albumin levels prior to treatment appear to have a direct bearing on the odds of surviving mesothelioma. The study focused…