Oxford University researchers have developed a test that they believe will give doctors the ability to diagnosis mesothelioma earlier. The results of the study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, show that a protein called meothelin is typically found to be 6 times higher in the pleural fluid of mesothelioma patients than in patients with lung cancer that has spread from other areas of the body. The protein was ten times greater in mesothelioma victims than in patients with pleural effusion resulting from benign conditions.
Pleural effusion, or fluid build up from the lining of the lungs called the pleura, is a common symptom of mesothelioma. The fluid collects in the chest and causes pressure and pain. Since the disease is so rare, many family practice physicians don’t immediately suspect mesothelioma.
Often, a patient will be given numerous rounds of antibiotics and diagnostic procedures before the disease is diagnosed—in many cases wasting precious months of treatment. The new meothelin test may help physicians to diagnose mesothelioma earlier, giving patients more mesothelioma treatment options.
Tags: mesothelioma
