|

Ultrasound for Diagnosing Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink
Ultrasound for Diagnosing Mesothelioma

A team of researchers in China analyzed the accuracy of a specific kind of ultrasound for diagnosing mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos. Even though it is a rare cancer, the global incidence of mesothelioma has been rising over the past decade worldwide.

One of the biggest challenges with mesothelioma is getting a definitive diagnosis. Mesothelioma diagnosis usually involves several tests. Patients may have imaging scans, blood tests, and a biopsy. By the time mesothelioma is finally diagnosed, it may already be too late for treatment to help.

Getting an Accurate Diagnosis

A biopsy involves examining a sample of tissue from a patient’s body to find out if they have a specific disease. A biopsy is the most important procedure for diagnosing mesothelioma.

The most common biopsy method to diagnose mesothelioma is a procedure called thoracoscopic pleural biopsy. However, this procedure can be expensive. It can also be invasive and distressing for the patient.

This new study looked at a less invasive method for diagnosing mesothelioma. This method is called ultrasound-guided percutaneous pleural needle biopsy (US-PPNB). This can be a better option for patients who are frail or otherwise poor candidates for more invasive procedures.

The researchers analyzed the patient records of 49 patients who received US-PPNB between 2014 and 2020. Only two patients experienced side effects, and both responded to treatment.

The researchers found that the diagnostic accuracy for mesothelioma with this method was 75.5%.

About 20% of the patients received a false-negative diagnosis. In other words, the biopsy showed that the patient did not have mesothelioma when they did have the disease. The researchers discovered that the size of the needle and the thickness of the lung membrane affect the accuracy of the biopsy.

The researchers concluded that US-PPNB is an acceptable option for diagnosing mesothelioma in frail patients who are in the late stage of the disease.

Source

Zhang Y, Tang J, Zhou X, et al. Diagnostic ability and its influenced factors of ultrasound-guided percutaneous pleural needle biopsy diagnosis for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Front Surg. 2022;9:1022505. Published 2022 Sep 26. doi:10.3389/fsurg.2022.1022505

Similar Posts

  • |

    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…

  • | |

    Needle Biopsy “Simple, Safe & Accurate” for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma researchers in China say a biopsy method that involves a single skin puncture can produce good diagnostic results for mesothelioma patients with little pain or risk. The study focused on percutaneous (through the skin) biopsy in patients who had unexplained fluid buildup or swelling in their abdomens. Abdominal distension and fluid buildup (called ascites) can be signs of peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer of the abdominal lining caused by exposure to asbestos. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for less than 30% of all mesothelioma cases. Because the symptoms may be vague and often develop many decades after asbestos exposure, peritoneal mesothelioma can be especially challenging to diagnose.  Misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis are not uncommon. In the newest study on percutaneous…

  • | |

    Inflammation Both “Friend and Foe” in Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    An immune system response that causes mesothelioma symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and weight loss may also be helpful to clinicians as a way to find and treat the disease. Scientists with The Asbestos Diseases Research Institute in Sydney, Australia make that case that both systemic inflammation (throughout the body) and at the site of a tumor – has long been associated with mesothelioma and other cancers. Inflammation results when the body attempts to address the imbalances of cancer by producing more of certain immune system cells. Some inflammatory markers, such as CD+8 T-cells and C-reactive protein, have been linked to better prognosis in mesothelioma. Other inflammatory markers, such as certain macrophages and a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, can signal the…

  • | |

    FDG PET-CT Results Could Lead to Improved Mesothelioma Treatment

    ByAlex Strauss

    In a recent study, researchers say a better understanding of certain diagnostic criteria could result in more targeted treatments for malignant mesothelioma. In a recent published report, doctors from the medical school at Dicle University in Diyarbakir, Turkey measured the relationship between PET-CT scan results and survival in 177 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The patients were diagnosed between April 2007 and April 2011. They had a mean age of 55.4 and most (56%) were male. Patients in the study all had FDG PET-CT scans before beginning their mesothelioma treatment. FDG PET-CT scanning is a powerful imaging tool for mesothelioma and other cancers that combines a radioactive tracer with a combination of positron emission tomography and computed tomography scanning.  Because…

  • | |

    Mesothelioma Surgeons Report New Biopsy Technique

    ByAlex Strauss

    A team of surgeons in Maryland have demonstrated how using a standard biopsy tool in a new way could improve the biopsy process for certain mesothelioma patients. An aggressive cancer of the pleural lining around the lungs, malignant pleural mesothelioma usually requires a tissue biopsy to make a definitive diagnosis. Often this is done using a rigid tool called a thoracoscope inserted into the chest wall while the patient is under general anesthesia. However, mesothelioma doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center detail the case of a 79-year-old suspected mesothelioma patient whose biopsy was done in a minimally-invasive way, under conscious sedation, thanks to the novel use of a standard tool. Although the patient had several of the common signs…

  • |

    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…