Does Pleural Fluid Exposure Affect Mesothelioma Survival?
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Does Pleural Fluid Exposure Affect Mesothelioma Survival?

ByAlex Strauss

A recent study found no link between mesothelioma survival and exposure to pleural fluid. But that does not necessarily mean the link doesn’t exist.  Pleural fluid is also called pleural effusions or “water on the lungs”. It is extra fluid that builds up around the lungs. It is common in people with heart failure, kidney or liver disease, pleural mesothelioma and some other kinds of cancer.  Pleural effusions are usually treated as an uncomfortable mesothelioma symptom. Draining the fluid can help patients breathe easier.  But researchers at Oxford University wondered whether the pleural fluid itself could shorten mesothelioma survival. In this study, the answer appears to be no. But the researchers warn this may not be the final word on…

Diagnosing Mesothelioma from Pleural Fluid: The Cell Block Technique
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Diagnosing Mesothelioma from Pleural Fluid: The Cell Block Technique

ByAlex Strauss

Turkish researchers say a method for concentrating cancer cells from the lung fluid of mesothelioma and lung cancer patients into a single “block” for examination may result in a more accurate diagnosis than traditional fluid analysis. Pleural effusion or excess lung fluid is often one of the first signs of mesothelioma. Patients may experience this fluid collection as chest pressure, pain, or inability to take a full breath. Suspected mesothelioma patients with pleural effusion will often undergo thoracentesis, a technique for removing some of the fluid for examination. In the current study, researchers compared the traditional method of analyzing cancer cells in pleural fluid with a method that involves concentrating those scattered cells into a “block” that can be cut through and examined…

Catheter Path Tumors in Mesothelioma Patients May Be Benign
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Catheter Path Tumors in Mesothelioma Patients May Be Benign

ByAlex Strauss

People suspected of having pleural mesothelioma often have some type of intervention that involves inserting a needle into the pleura. This can happen in order to obtain a tissue sample for diagnosis or to place a catheter to drain off fluid that can accumulate around the lungs. Unfortunately, mesothelioma patients who have these types of interventions are also prone to developing tiny tumors along the path where the needle was inserted. These tumors are usually assumed to be metastatic mesothelioma that was “seeded” by the needle, and are typically treated with targeted radiation. But doctors at the University of Western Australia say clinicians should not be too quick to treat such tumors without confirming the diagnosis with a biopsy. Dr….

Mesothelioma Symptoms May Benefit from Tuberculosis Drugs
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Mesothelioma Symptoms May Benefit from Tuberculosis Drugs

ByAlex Strauss

Pleural effusion is the one of most uncomfortable and life-limiting symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. The buildup of fluid in the pleural space around the lungs, which can happen in late stage mesothelioma as well as several other types of cancer, limits breathing and can be painful. Effusion is often one of the primary reasons that mesothelioma patients in the late stages of the disease have trouble taking a full breath and complain of chest pain and fatigue. While pleural fluid can be drained off through thoracentesis or chemically absorbed through pleurodesis, these treatments are painful, risky, and not always effective. Now, a team of researchers in China say they may have discovered a non-invasive method for dealing with pleural effusion caused…

Implantable Catheter May Provide Mesothelioma Symptom Relief
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Implantable Catheter May Provide Mesothelioma Symptom Relief

ByAlex Strauss

An implantable catheter that allows cancer patients to drain their own excess lung fluid at home may improve quality of life for some mesothelioma patients. A company-sponsored study of the PleurX drainage system conducted in Germany and published in a German medical journal, suggests that the system may be especially beneficial for late-stage mesothelioma patients. Pleural mesothelioma is a malignancy of the pleural lining which surrounds the lungs. In its later stages, mesothelioma often results in pleural effusions, or a build-up of fluid in the space between the inner and outer parts of the pleura. The problem is also common in the later stages of lung cancer and breast cancer. Pleural effusions limit the ability of the lungs to expand, resulting in…

Mesothelioma or Lung Cancer? Pleural Fluid May Tell
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Mesothelioma or Lung Cancer? Pleural Fluid May Tell

ByAlex Strauss

One of the biggest challenges in treating malignant pleural mesothelioma is making a definitive diagnosis. Mesothelioma is a cancer that occurs in the membranous tissue encasing the lungs and other organs. It is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. Although mesothelioma is not technically a lung cancer, many of its most common symptoms, such as shortness of breath and coughing, are similar to lung cancer and other lung diseases. Like mesothelioma, many of these diseases cause a buildup of fluid around the lungs known as pleural effusion.  But there are subtle differences in the biochemical composition of that fluid from one disease to the next. A team of medical researchers in Japan is testing a new method for detecting and using…