New Biomarkers Could Mean Earlier, More Accurate Mesothelioma Diagnosis
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New Biomarkers Could Mean Earlier, More Accurate Mesothelioma Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

In what could be a breakthrough in the development of a reliable diagnostic test for mesothelioma, Danish scientists have identified what they say are four key biomarkers that distinguish the asbestos cancer from non-malignant conditions. If the new research from Copenhagen University can be validated, it may dramatically shorten the time it takes to identify mesothelioma and start aggressive therapies. “Our goal was to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) that can aid in the differential diagnosis of MPM [malignant pleural mesothelioma] from RMPs [reactive mesothelial proliferations],” investigator Eric Santoni-Rugiu, MD, PhD, of the Laboratory of Molecular Pathology at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark said in a press release. MiRNAs are small cellular components that act as master switches for protein synthesis inside…

Virtual Community Can Ease Mesothelioma Stress
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Virtual Community Can Ease Mesothelioma Stress

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients and their families can reduce their stress and feel more supported by getting involved in an online community. That is the conclusion reached by researchers at in the Psychology Department at Southern Cross University in New South Wales, Australia. Writing in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, lecturer Desiree Kozlowski and her colleagues reported on the first 30 days of a peer-to-peer virtual community of people with asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma. In the introduction to their report, the team observes that people with mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive lung-related cancer, often feel socially isolated and highly stressed by their life-limiting symptoms. In addition to coping with the challenges of mesothelioma diagnosis and treatment, patients who were negligently exposed to…

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…

Thoracoscopy: An Alternative to Surgery for Mesothelioma Diagnosis?
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Thoracoscopy: An Alternative to Surgery for Mesothelioma Diagnosis?

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say an outpatient medical procedure called thoracoscopy is safer and simpler than inpatient surgery for diagnosing a common mesothelioma symptom. Pleural effusion, or buildup of fluid around the lungs, can be caused by several different conditions and cancers, including malignant pleural mesothelioma. When doctors are unable to make a definitive diagnosis of mesothelioma or to determine its extent from fluid samples and imaging studies alone, an open surgery of the chest (thoracic surgery) may be recommended. But a team of Mayo Clinic doctors writing in the medical journal Chest say minimally invasive outpatient medical thoracoscopy offers a feasible alternative to surgery for exploring the chest cavity in people with suspected mesothelioma. The study focused on…

Test May Distinguish Mesothelioma from Benign Conditions
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Test May Distinguish Mesothelioma from Benign Conditions

ByAlex Strauss

One of the biggest challenges for patients and clinicians dealing with malignant pleural mesothelioma is just getting a definitive diagnosis. Although mesothelioma is closely associated with asbestos, symptoms may not show up until decades after exposure, making it difficult to link the cause and effect. When symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath do occur, they are often attributed to other, less serious causes. But a recent article in Lung Cancer focuses on a promising new way to help distinguish mesothelioma from other conditions with similar characteristics. Researchers at the University of Chicago and cancer centers in the UK, France, and Japan say a glucose transport protein called GLUT-1 was present in half of the epithelioid mesothelioma cells…

Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools
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Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools

ByAlex Strauss

A recent mesothelioma diagnosis in the UK once again dramatically highlights the fact that even a small amount of asbestos can be deadly. Sixty-three-year-old school teacher Marion Potts of Brockenhurst died of mesothelioma in a Southampton hospital in June. According to an article in The Mirror, the Coroner recorded a verdict of “death from an industrial disease” after hearing evidence last week that Potts actually saw asbestos dust being released when she pinned work on the classroom walls. Most recently, Potts was head of the English department at Romsey School in Hampshire until her retirement two years ago. Mesothelioma is a growing threat among school teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and even students in British schools. A government report released last…

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 Serum Marker Could Improve Mesothelioma Diagnosis
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New Serum Marker Could Improve Mesothelioma Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

Japanese researchers believe they have found a way to diagnose a rare form of mesothelioma earlier using a simple blood test. Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM), which represents about a fourth of all mesothelioma cases, is an aggressive malignancy that spreads across the lining of the abdomen. In most cases, DMPM is lethal within a year. The standard treatment for diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is cytoreductive surgery to remove as much of the mesothelioma as possible, followed by intraperitoneal chemotherapy to destroy residual cancer cells. In some studies, this approach has resulted in 5-year survival rates of 30 to 60 percent. However, it is most successful when it is performed early, while the primary mesothelioma tumor is more easily removed. Like all forms of…

Mesothelioma Diagnosis: SMRP Not the Answer
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Mesothelioma Diagnosis: SMRP Not the Answer

ByAlex Strauss

Soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP), a protein found in the blood serum of some people, may not be as effective a biomarker for mesothelioma as it was once thought to be. Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer of the internal membranes that surround the lungs, abdominal organs or heart. It is most often triggered by exposure to asbestos and is difficult to diagnose in its early stages. Biomarkers, like SMRP, are often used to try to make cancer diagnoses earlier since these compounds are often produced in larger quantities by cancer cells than by healthy cells. But in a report in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, a team of researchers suggests that SMRP has some significant limitations when it comes to detecting mesothelioma. The…

New Mesothelioma Test Available Later This Year
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New Mesothelioma Test Available Later This Year

ByAlex Strauss

A mesothelioma test created and validated at Brigham and Women/s Hospital in Boston could be available to the public within the next couple of months. The test, which will be known by the brand name DecisionDx-Mesothelioma, is designed to test patients who are suspected of having mesothelioma for the expression of a variety of genes. By creating a gene profile, the test can give doctors a clearer picture of which patients with mesothelioma symptoms might actually be suffering from the disease. Friendswood, Texas-based Castle Biosciences has announced that it has acquired the intellectual property and technology rights to the test from Brigham and Women’s. Castle Biosciences specializes in molecular diagnostic tests for rare cancers like mesothelioma. Currently, the company has three proprietary…