Mesothelioma may be detected early with development of new cutting edge tests

Article Added April 1st, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story

Researchers have found that high blood levels of a protein, osteopontin, are linked to the development of pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer that develops on the lining of the lungs and is caused by exposure to asbestos. These new tests will help in early detection of this deadly cancer and could hopefully provide doctors more time as to fight and possibly cure the disease. A recent New England Journal of Medicine article by Dr. Harvey Pass, who is a professor of surgery at New York University Shool of Medicine said, "The earlier you detect it, the better the chance that you can do therapy that impacts survival.”

Currently, there isn’t a way to detect for mesothelioma. Millions of American workers have had exposure to asbestos in the workplace. The difficult that doctors have is being able to determine which of these people will develop mesothelioma, as opposed to other asbestos-related conditions such as asbestosis. Research is still in its infancy stages, but a study of close to 200 people show that osteopontin levels may point to a higher risk of developing mesothelioma. Researchers also found that osteopontin blood concentrations were 6 times higher that normal levels in people with mesothelioma. Although this research looks promising, there are doctors that write that early detection in mesothelioma doesn’t really provide longer survival and that there may be weaknesses in the tests. Pass and his research team will be doing extensive testing over the next few years using blood samples from mesothelioma patients. If the marker is able to hold up, then they will proceed with a trial.

Approximately 2500 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the US each year. Pass believes that the number of people that actually have mesothelioma could actually be higher because the cancer might be underdiagnosed. A very small percentage of people have an early diagnosis, a mere 5 percent. The prognosis of a normal diagnosis of mesothelioma is typically 9-12 months. If mesothelioma can be detected early, people can benefit from therapy because mesothelioma “does respond to therapy , such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery.

Article Added April 1st, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story