New CT Method May Enable Safer, Earlier Mesothelioma Detection
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New CT Method May Enable Safer, Earlier Mesothelioma Detection

ByAlex Strauss

A new way of using a CT scanner may make it possible to detect the signs of mesothelioma earlier in asbestos workers without exposing them to dangerously high levels of radiation. As with most types of cancer, mesothelioma treatment outcomes are closely linked to early detection. Because people with mesothelioma often have no symptoms until decades after their asbestos exposure, some studies have suggested that CT scans of asbestos-exposed workers may offer a way to catch the disease earlier. But the radiation used in CT scanning carries its own cancer risks. Now, new research suggests that a technology developed by GE Healthcare may offer a safer way to monitor these workers for signs of mesothelioma. Radiologists and occupational medical experts…

New Detection System for Mesothelioma
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New Detection System for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A team of biotech scientists in New York have developed an electrochemical process they say can help clinicians detect mesothelioma cells in blood serum. The system works by detecting a protein (HAPLN1) known to be expressed at high levels in the blood serum of people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Detecting mesothelioma as early as possible is of critical importance because mesothelioma is such a difficult cancer to treat. Associated with asbestos exposure, mesothelioma starts on the membrane around the lungs, heart, or abdomen. It typically grows quickly and does not respond to conventional treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Biomarkers like the HAPLN1 protein may be value if they can help clinicians distinguish mesothelioma from other conditions with similar symptoms. The scientists…

New Mesothelioma Test May Detect Disease Earlier
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New Mesothelioma Test May Detect Disease Earlier

ByAlex Strauss

Malignant mesothelioma is on the rise around the world.  As with many cancers, early detection is the key to survival and better quality of life for patients.  Now, a group of Japanese researchers is paving the way for a laboratory test that could help doctors identify the disease – and start aggressive treatment – earlier. Writing in the journal, Modern Pathology, the researchers explain how a protein called CD146 can serve as a biomarker for mesothelioma.  The protein has already been shown to be present in patients with advanced malignant melanoma, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer.  Now, for the first time, researchers have also identified its presence in the lung fluid of mesothelioma patients. The research team tested the lung fluid of…