diagnosis

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    New Cancer Blood Test May Bolster Mesothelioma Diagnostic Tools

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new cancer blood test may make boost the accuracy of current screening tools and allow doctors to detect malignant mesothelioma and other hard-to-find cancers earlier.  The test is called a multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test. The US company Grail developed it and researchers at the Cleveland Clinic tested it on more than 3,500 patients. They found that it correctly identified cancer in more than half of cases. The test was even more accurate in rare cancer types for which no screening test is available.  Malignant mesothelioma was not specifically mentioned in the report. But it is an extremely rare cancer. The method used by the new cancer blood test suggests that it could be useful for finding mesothelioma, too. …

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    Japanese Researchers Discover ‘Novel Diagnostic Marker’ for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A protein called CDLN15 could be a novel diagnostic marker for malignant pleural mesothelioma, allowing doctors to pinpoint asbestos cancer earlier and boost the odds of survival. That is the message from a recently published Japanese study.  Pleural mesothelioma is notoriously difficult to diagnose. It rarely causes any symptoms at all until it is in a late stage. When the symptoms do show up, they are easy to confuse with other illnesses. Earlier diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma depends on finding things that set it apart from other diseases. This novel diagnostic marker could serve as a red flag for this rare but deadly cancer.  CDLN15 as a Novel Diagnostic Marker CDLN15 stands for claudin-15. Claudins are a family of proteins…

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    Artificial Intelligence Improves Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Study Finds

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is more evidence that artificial intelligence may have a role to play in helping doctors diagnose deadly malignant mesothelioma earlier.  A study conducted at Japan’s Hyogo College of Medicine used past patient records to test a deep convolutional neural network (CDNN). This is a complex computer program designed to evaluate diagnostic criteria.  Pleural mesothelioma is a difficult cancer for doctors to diagnose. Artificial intelligence can help by quickly comparing diagnostic data to hundreds of past cases. In the Japanese study, the AI produced the most accurate mesothelioma diagnoses when combined with all of the available patient data. The Challenge of Diagnosing Mesothelioma Mesothelioma tumors grow on the membranes around internal organs. They usually come from past exposure to asbestos….

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    LA Woman’s Story is a Sobering Reminder to Watch for Signs of Pleural Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    The plight of an LA actress who found out she had lung cancer because of a COVID test is a sobering reminder to be aware of the early signs of pleural mesothelioma. The woman’s story was recently featured on the Today Show website. Fifty-nine year old Annabelle Gurwitch is a non-smoker with no known lung cancer risk factors. She and her 23-year-old child decided to get COVID tests after her child came home from college.  Although the COVID test was negative, Gurwitch writes that doctors were concerned about her persistent cough. Ongoing cough can be a one of the early signs of pleural mesothelioma, too. An X-ray revealed that Gurwitch was suffering from Stage 4 lung cancer, the most common…

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    Waiting for Medicare Coverage Could Impact Mesothelioma Survival

    ByAlex Strauss

    People who suspect they may have cancer but wait to get a diagnosis until they are eligible for Medicare coverage could negatively impact their ability to survive mesothelioma.  That is the message from a new Stanford study. The study suggests that many people wait until they are 65 to seek cancer care.  For people with a fast-growing cancer like mesothelioma, delaying diagnosis by waiting for Medicare coverage could have devastating consequences.  Early Mesothelioma Diagnosis Key to Survival Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It is one of the most deadly types of cancer. Like most cancers, the chances of surviving mesothelioma are higher the earlier it is diagnosed.  But mesothelioma is not…

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    COVID-19 Fears May Lead to Delayed Mesothelioma Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    Cancer experts are warning that the fear of contracting COVID-19 may result in delayed mesothelioma diagnosis and worse outcomes for some patients.  A study from the Epic Health Research Network shows that many patients delayed cancer screenings and other preventative health appointments during the pandemic.  Although the numbers have started to increase, the trend may mean that some patients have already faced a delayed mesothelioma diagnosis.  Understanding Pleural Mesothelioma Pleural mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer on the tissue that surrounds the lungs and lines the chest wall. It is most common in people who lived or worked around asbestos.  Even in the best of times, mesothelioma is extremely difficult to diagnose. Most mesothelioma patients have very few symptoms until the…

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    Mesothelioma Subtypes Often Misclassified by Biopsy

    ByAlex Strauss

    Pleural biopsy is not perfect when it comes to telling the difference between the three mesothelioma subtypes. But misclassification could lead to shorter survival.  That is the conclusion reached by top mesothelioma researchers in Brescia, Italy.  They compared autopsy records from 134 Italian mesothelioma patients. The patients were either shipyard workers or their spouses. The researchers found that the mesothelioma subtypes identified from biopsy tissue were incorrect a large percent of the time. Misclassification matters because it impacts which mesothelioma treatments doctors choose.  The Three Mesothelioma Subtypes Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive malignancy on the lung lining. It is caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma cells fall into three mesothelioma subtypes based on certain cellular characteristics. Pleural mesothelioma is notoriously…

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    New Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines Could Catch Some Mesotheliomas Earlier

    ByAlex Strauss

    New lung cancer screening guidelines for smokers might have an unexpected benefit for people who have also been exposed to asbestos: They may catch mesothelioma earlier.  Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a lung-related cancer caused by asbestos. It develops over many years. Many mesothelioma patients do not show any symptoms until the disease is very advanced. There is currently no routine screening for mesothelioma. The new lung cancer screening guidelines apply to people ages 50 to 80. They suggest that those who have smoked the equivalent of a pack a day for 20 years should have annual low-dose CT scans.  If screening shows a tumor, doctors can dig further to determine its type. Both lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma are more…

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    Visualizing the Immune Profile of Mesothelioma Patients

    ByAlex Strauss

    Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have come up with a better way to analyze the immune profile of people with malignant mesothelioma.  A person’s immune profile is the unique set of immune system cells and how they are working at any given time. The functionality of immune system cells in the area right around the tumor – the tumor microenvironment or TME – is especially telling.  The system developed at MD Anderson assigns different colors to key immune system markers. They applied the color system to a sample from the microenvironment of mesothelioma tumors. The result was an image of each tmor’s immune profile. These images could help doctors determine new targets for mesothelioma treatment.  What is…

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    Medical Thoracoscopy Safe and Effective for Mesothelioma Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    UK researchers say a minimally invasive procedure called medical thoracoscopy is safe and effective for diagnosing mesothelioma and treating its symptoms.  The word comes from a large medical center in Northumberland. The UK has one of the highest rates of pleural mesothelioma in the world. Rates of pleural mesothelioma in Northumberland are especially high.  Mesothelioma diagnosis usually requires a biopsy. The new study finds that medical thoracoscopy enabled “high diagnostic sensitivity” with few serious complications.   Understanding Medical Thoracoscopy Medical thoracoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure for diagnosing and treating diseases affecting the pleura. The pleura is a membrane that surrounds the lung. People with mesothelioma and some other diseases can develop fluid between the pleura and the lungs. The fluid is…