Lung Cancer Blood Test: Can it Find Early Mesothelioma?
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Lung Cancer Blood Test: Can it Find Early Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients and their doctors may have reason to be optimistic about a new lung cancer blood test. A random trial of more than 12,000 high-risk people in Scotland shows the EarlyCDT test combined with CT imaging can detect cancer early. Earlier diagnosis is likely to lead to longer survival of lung cancers like pleural mesothelioma. Researchers presented their findings on the new lung cancer blood test at a global conference this week in Spain. Largest Lung Cancer Trial As in the US, lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in Scotland. Pleural mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer. Although it is rare, mesothelioma is more common in the UK than in other parts of the world. This is…

New Cancer Blood Test Could Identify Early Mesothelioma
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New Cancer Blood Test Could Identify Early Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Israeli researchers hope that a new kind of cancer blood test could help detect mesothelioma and other malignancies earlier. Earlier diagnosis could lead to longer mesothelioma survival. The blood test is based on the idea that immune system cells undergo metabolic changes when they fight a cancer like pleural mesothelioma. Different kinds of changes are associated with different kinds of cancers. The new cancer blood test detects these changes. Immune System Cells and Metabolism The immune system is the body’s primary way of defending itself against diseases like malignant mesothelioma. Metabolism refers to the way immune system cells expend energy to fight cancer.  An Israeli company is developing the new cancer blood test. It focuses on the metabolism of immune…

Mesothelioma Tumor Progression Can be Tracked With Blood Test
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Mesothelioma Tumor Progression Can be Tracked With Blood Test

ByAlex Strauss

Italian researchers say it’s possible to monitor mesothelioma tumor progression with a simple blood test. They make their case in a Letter to the Editor in the latest edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. The researchers say blood serum levels of the protein mesothelin correlate closely with tumor volume in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. They are recommending that the blood test be used alongside CT to track mesothelioma tumor progression. The Importance of Monitoring Mesothelioma Tumor Progression Pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer with a grim prognosis. Mesothelioma tumors tend to grow and spread quickly. Doctors have to carefully monitor mesothelioma tumor progression to tell if a treatment is working. Most mesothelioma patients have chemotherapy with Alimta (pemetrexed) and…

Japanese Discovery Could Lead to New Mesothelioma Blood Test
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Japanese Discovery Could Lead to New Mesothelioma Blood Test

ByAlex Strauss

A discovery in Japan could lead to a more effective mesothelioma blood test for mesothelioma diagnosis. Japanese scientists say they have found a better way to detect mesothelioma cells in the blood.  The scientists are experts in occupational health. Malignant mesothelioma is an occupational cancer because people can get it from working near asbestos. Mesothelioma diagnosis is challenging. But a powerful mesothelioma blood test could make it easier to find the asbestos cancer earlier. Treatment often works better when patients start it earlier. Circulating Tumor Cells in the Blood of Mesothelioma Patients No matter what kind of cancer a person has, their tumor releases some cells into the blood. Mesothelioma tumors are no exception. These circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are…

In Search of a Better Mesothelioma Blood Test
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In Search of a Better Mesothelioma Blood Test

ByAlex Strauss

A team from the Center of Molecular Medicine in Bochum, Germany tested the blood of 43 male mesothelioma patients along with 52 control subjects that had been exposed to asbestos but hadn’t developed mesothelioma. Blood was analyzed for the presence of mesothelin, a protein that is the most common blood-based mesothelioma biomarker, and miR-103a-3p, a microRNA gene. When the team attempted to identify the mesothelioma patients by mesothelin levels alone, they were able to correctly identify 74% of the sick patients. At the same time, the mesothelin-only blood test correctly ruled out mesothelioma in 85% of the healthy control subjects. The micro RNA gene proved to be a more accurate identifier of mesothelioma. Using the microRNA gene as their only…

Mesothelioma Blood Test May Save Lives through Earlier Diagnosis
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Mesothelioma Blood Test May Save Lives through Earlier Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

There is new evidence that a blood test for a biomarker called N-ERC/mesothelin could help identify mesothelioma earlier and improve outcomes in people at risk for the disease. Cancer researchers with Juntendo University in Tokyo released a study in 2008 suggesting that N-ERC/mesothelin, a soluble protein released by certain kinds of cancer cells, was “a very promising tumor marker for mesothelioma, especially epithelioid mesothelioma”. In their newest study, the same group attempted to test the value of the biomarker as a warning tool for closer monitoring in populations at high mesothelioma risk. The new study included construction workers who were part of a large-scale, 5-year screening of people known to be exposed to asbestos, the primary cause of mesothelioma. The…

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…

Predicting Mesothelioma Outcomes with Blood Tests
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Predicting Mesothelioma Outcomes with Blood Tests

ByAlex Strauss

Two separate teams of Japanese researchers are delving into the possibilities of blood serum indicators that could help predict outcomes in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma, a cancer that starts on the lining around the lungs, is the most common form of the disease. It occurs most often in people who have inadvertently inhaled asbestos dust. Mesothelioma is highly resistant to conventional treatments. It is also difficult to predict which patients are likely to do well with standard therapies and which are not, which is referred to as prognosis. But researchers worldwide are continually searching for new ways to diagnose and predict the prognosis of patients with…

New Blood Test May Help Diagnose Mesothelioma Earlier
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New Blood Test May Help Diagnose Mesothelioma Earlier

ByAlex Strauss

Investigators in California are evaluating new technology that could eventually help diagnose mesothelioma with a simple blood test. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.  It strikes about 2,500 people in the U.S. each year.  But its rarity – and its tendency to mimic other lung-related diseases – can make mesothelioma hard to diagnose.  In recent years, some mesothelioma centers have begun evaluating the DNA composition of suspected mesothelioma cells using a test called a DNA array. Now, a group of researchers in California reports that a different type of evaluation – one that looks for abnormal sugars (glycans) in blood serum – may offer another diagnostic option for mesothelioma.  Anti-glycan antibodies are produced by the immune system…

Study Advises Caution For Mesothelioma Blood Test
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Study Advises Caution For Mesothelioma Blood Test

ByAlex Strauss

Australian researchers are warning that a blood test used to help diagnose mesothelioma could indicate the presence of another disease instead. Mesothelin is a protein that occurs naturally in cells of the mesothelium, the membrane that surrounds and protects internal organs. The recent finding that blood levels of mesothelin are elevated in mesothelioma patients was a breakthrough for the asbestos-linked cancer that can be difficult to diagnose.  More than half of the mesothelioma patients tested had significantly elevated serum mesothelin at diagnosis, prompting doctors to begin using serum mesothelin as a diagnostic tool. But now a new study suggests that serum mesothelin can also be significantly elevated in people with kidney disease and recommends that doctors take that into consideration when looking…