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This Medical News Today article reports a new technique that might be helpful in diagnosing mesothelioma,
New Technique Can Help Diagnose Mesothelioma.
A new technique may help clinicians diagnose patients presenting with a pleural effusion (accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity) of unknown cause. One of the causes of pleural effusion is malignant pleural mesothelioma, a relatively rare cancer. Currently, the first-line test for mesothelioma in patients with a pleural effusion is pleural fluid cytology, but this test isn't very sensitive.
The research study results demonstrate that pleural fluid mesothelin levels were over six times greater in patients with mesothelioma than in patients with metastatic carcinomas, and ten times greater than in patients with benign effusions. This means serum mesothelin is a diagnostic biomarker for mesothelioma. Pleural fluid values are significantly higher than serum levels and may offer additional value over pleural fluid cytology for diagnosis of pleural malignancy. Additionally, pleural fluid mesothelin is a valuable adjunct to cytological examination in patients with an undiagnosed pleural effusion.
Read the research study abstract:
Clinical Impact and Reliability of Pleural Fluid Mesothelin in Undiagnosed Pleural Effusions
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