Analysis of Three Top Mesothelioma Biomarkers
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Analysis of Three Top Mesothelioma Biomarkers

ByAlex Strauss

New research confirms that some mesothelioma biomarkers are much more effective than others for detecting asbestos cancer. The news comes from a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Researchers ran an analysis of more than 50 studies on three popular mesothelioma biomarkers. They concluded that two of them make good mesothelioma screening tools but one of them does not.   The Challenge of Early Mesothelioma Diagnosis Mesothelioma is a highly aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. As with most cancers, the odds of surviving mesothelioma are higher if it is caught early. But mesothelioma does not cause many symptoms in the early stages. This can make it challenging to diagnose. Even…

Systemic Inflammation Linked to Shorter Mesothelioma Survival
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Systemic Inflammation Linked to Shorter Mesothelioma Survival

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients whose bodies respond to the illness with systemic inflammation are less likely to survive. Chinese researchers have linked a measure of systemic inflammation called SII to shorter survival in people with pleural mesothelioma. The new study involved 97 people with confirmed malignant mesothelioma. It suggests that SII could be a simple, non-invasive way to determine mesothelioma prognosis. What is SII? SII stands for “systemic immune-inflammation index”. When a body is under stress, such as when it is fighting mesothelioma, the innate immune system kicks into action. Certain kinds of white blood cells and proteins are released. The result is systemic inflammation. SII can be determined with a blood test. The test measures the levels of white blood cells…

A New Look at the Complex Process of Mesothelioma Diagnosis
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A New Look at the Complex Process of Mesothelioma Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma is not only a difficult cancer to treat. It’s also notoriously difficult to diagnose. Because there are no definitive biomarkers that can quickly reveal if a patient has this aggressive cancer, diagnosing mesothelioma typically involves a combination of different techniques. A new article in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine highlights some of the most useful and important diagnostic tests for mesothelioma. Pathologists Qudsia Arif, MD, and Aliya Husain, MD, of the University of Chicago used peer-reviewed publications, text books, and consensus among their fellow pathologists to compile their recommendations. According to the report, among the possible diagnostic biomarkers for mesothelioma, four of the most reliable are the proteins calretinin, WT-1, cytokeratin 5/6, and podoplanin. These, say the…

Mesothelioma Management: Different Biomarkers Serve Different Functions
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Mesothelioma Management: Different Biomarkers Serve Different Functions

ByAlex Strauss

Australian researchers have attempted to settle the debate about the value of the newly proposed mesothelioma biomarker fibulin-3 compared with the gold standard biomarker mesothelin.  According to their new report in the journal Thorax, mesothelin is still the best marker for diagnosing mesothelioma but fibulin-3 is better at predicting mesothelioma outcomes. The multi-center study included 153 patients – 82 with pleural mesothelioma, 36 with other types of malignancies causing pleural effusions (excess lung fluid), and 35 with benign effusions. For comparison, the team also measured biomarker levels in the blood plasma of 49 people with non-mesothelioma asbestos-related diseases. Researchers measured mesothelin and fibulin-3 levels in both pleural effusions and blood plasma and determined that mesothelin provides the best diagnostic accuracy,…

Protein Biomarkers in Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment
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Protein Biomarkers in Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

Three separate teams of international researchers have confirmed that proteins found in the blood can reveal some vital information for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of pleural mesothelioma. These new studies on mesothelioma biomarkers indicate that all three of the studied proteins have value, but for different reasons. The most recent study comes from researchers in the Czech Republic who found that serum mesothelin, a protein overexpressed in several types of cancer, is valuable to measure the severity of mesothelioma in people who have already been diagnosed, but is unlikely to help doctors find the disease earlier. Doctors in the Department of Respiratory Medicine in Palacky University Olomouc followed 239 asbestos-exposed workers for nearly 20 years. They found that mesothelin…

Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible
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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…

New Blood Test May Detect Mesothelioma Earlier
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New Blood Test May Detect Mesothelioma Earlier

ByAlex Strauss

In the ongoing worldwide quest for an easier and more accurate way to diagnose malignant mesothelioma, one of the nation’s top mesothelioma research teams claims to have found a ‘promising’ new method. The blood test, developed by SomaLogic, Inc. and tested at New York’s Lagone Medical Center, detects the presence and quantity of 19 different proteins (biomarkers) that can be secreted by tumor cells in the early stages of mesothelioma. In National Cancer Institute-funded studies on the new test, researchers used 90 blood samples from patients who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and 80 samples from people who had been exposed to asbestos but did not have a mesothelioma diagnosis.  The SomaLogic test accurately detected 15 out of 19 cases…

Mesothelioma Treatment Becoming More Individualized
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Mesothelioma Treatment Becoming More Individualized

ByAlex Strauss

A respected team of mesothelioma experts predicts that treatment for this aggressive cancer will become increasingly personalized in the next five to ten years. A malignancy in the lining around the lungs and other organs, mesothelioma is caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. Although its occurrence in the U.S. is believed to have leveled out at about 3,000 cases per year, the number of cases around the world is continuing to increase. Because the disease is so difficult to treat, many patients succumb within a year of diagnosis, even with the best therapies now available. For this reason, researches continue to look for ways to predict which treatments are most likely to work for which patients. In a recent article…

Mesothelioma Diagnosis Improved With New Biomarkers
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Mesothelioma Diagnosis Improved With New Biomarkers

ByAlex Strauss

As scientists continue to look for less invasive ways to diagnose the devastating asbestos-linked cancer mesothelioma, three important biomarkers have emerged in recent months. One of the biggest challenges with mesothelioma is obtaining an accurate diagnosis so that appropriate treatments can be started as soon as possible.  Because mesothelioma symptoms tend to be ambiguous and can mimic the symptoms of other diseases, this is rarely simple.  Many mesothelioma patients are not diagnosed until the disease is in its later stages and most patients survive only 6 to 18 months after diagnosis. But a study conducted at Oxford University and published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine may help to improve those odds.  The English researchers studied levels…