MRI Imaging May Be Superior to CT for Pleural Mesothelioma Diagnosis and Staging
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MRI Imaging May Be Superior to CT for Pleural Mesothelioma Diagnosis and Staging

ByAlex Strauss

When it comes to diagnosing and monitoring treatment response in people with pleural mesothelioma, MRI imaging may be better than CT.  That is the message from a new Italian study published in the online medical journal Cancers.  RIght now, CT (computed tomography) is the most popular form of imaging for pleural mesothelioma. Cancer doctors use CT images to help diagnose mesothelioma. They also use it to see how widespread the cancer is and to find out if treatment is making a difference.  But radiology researchers at Pisa University Hospital say MRI imaging has advantages over CT for people with the rare asbestos cancer.  Mesothelioma Diagnosis and Prognosis  Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most serious of several health conditions linked to…

Mesothelioma Biopsies: Ultrasound Guidance Beats CT
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Mesothelioma Biopsies: Ultrasound Guidance Beats CT

ByAlex Strauss

A new study concludes that ultrasound guided mesothelioma biopsies are safer and just as effective as CT guided biopsies.  Italian researchers analyzed both types of guidance systems for collecting tissue samples from mesothelioma patients. They compared the diagnostic yield and safety of each method.  It turns out that ionizing radiation is not necessary for successful mesothelioma biopsies. As long as the technician is experienced, ultrasound guidance may be the better choice.  The Importance of Mesothelioma Biopsies Pleural mesothelioma is a rare but highly aggressive kind of cancer. It grows on the membrane that surrounds the lungs. By the time patients experience symptoms of mesothelioma, the disease is often very advanced.  Malignant mesothelioma can be tricky to diagnose. Mesothelioma biopsies are…

Talc Pleurodesis Patients Need Alternate PET/CT Scan for Mesothelioma
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Talc Pleurodesis Patients Need Alternate PET/CT Scan for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Certain patients may get more benefit out of an alternate type of PET/CT scan for mesothelioma. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a common tool for diagnosing mesothelioma. It is also used to monitor the effectiveness of mesothelioma treatments. Doctors often combine PET with computed tomography (CT) for an even clearer picture of mesothelioma progression. Typically, a PET/CT scan for mesothelioma involves injection of a tracer called FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose). But it turns out that PET/CT scans with this tracer do not work well for all mesothelioma patients. A new Japanese study suggests that mesothelioma patients who have had a procedure called talc pleurodesis should consider a different kind of PET/CT scan instead. How Does Talc Pleurodesis Impact PET/CT Scan for Mesothelioma?…

Precision Radiotherapy Method May Reduce Local Recurrence of Mesothelioma After Surgery
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Precision Radiotherapy Method May Reduce Local Recurrence of Mesothelioma After Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

A radiation delivery method called tomotherapy may be more effective than conformal radiation therapy at keeping mesothelioma tumors from growing back at the original spot after surgery. That is the conclusion of UCLA researchers who compared tomotherapy and 3D conformal radiation therapy (CRT) in 45 patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma over an 8 year period. Of the forty-five consecutive patients, 23 received 3D-CRT and the other 22 received tomotherapy. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate overall survival, the time it took for a tumor to start regrowing in the same place, and the time it took for metastatic tumors to start appearing outside of the treatment field. Tomotherapy and 3D-CRT are both methods of delivering radiation into a mesothelioma tumor…

Mesothelioma Prognosis Accuracy Improves with PET/CT ‘Delayed Phase’
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Mesothelioma Prognosis Accuracy Improves with PET/CT ‘Delayed Phase’

ByAlex Strauss

More research has confirmed the value of FDG-PET/CT technology for predicting treatment response in mesothelioma – especially when the scan is conducted in two phases. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces three-dimensional images of functional processes in the body.  When the molecule FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose, a type of sugar) is used as the tracer, PET allows doctors to ‘see’ metabolic processes as they are happening.  Because metabolism is often higher in cancer cells, FDG-PET has proven to be a useful tool for diagnosing mesothelioma, the asbestos-linked cancer.   When FDG-PET is combined with computed tomography (CT), another powerful imaging test, the resulting images contain even more potentially crucial diagnostic, staging and prognostic information for mesothelioma. Now, a study conducted in Japan…