Rachel Ostroff, the director of clinical research at the Colorado based company Somalogic Inc, recently presented new findings concerning the diagnosis of mesothelioma at an American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Denver. According to Ostroff, Somalogic has developed a new screening technology which could be able to detect both pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma in its early stages.

Early detection could make a huge difference to those suffering from pancreatic cancer or mesothelioma. The diseases are well known for their tendency to remain undetected until they have spread dangerously throughout the body. Mesothelioma patients, who contract the cancer from asbestos exposure, are often told they have just six to eighteen months remaining to live by the time they are diagnosed.

“Currently these cancers are detected at an advanced stage,” Ostroff said, “where the possibility of cure is minimal.”

“Detection of these aggressive cancers at an earlier stage would identify patients for early treatment, which may improve their survival and quality of life.”

Pancreatic cancer takes the lives of some 30,000 Americans each year, while mesothelioma is responsible for about 3,000 deaths in the country annually. Together, the diseases kill about as many Americans as traffic accidents do each year.

Somalogic was funded in part by the NEC Corp of Japan, a company which sank $5 million into the project as part of a partnership aimed at improving the detection methods for the diseases.

The new technology relies on the detection aptamers, which are detectable traces of genetic materials that cling to certain proteins in the bloodstream. Somalogic worked to develop a mechanism whereby the genetic markers preferred specific proteins, making them easier to detect and interpret.

The study compiled results gathered from both patients who had been diagnosed with one of the diseases, and patients who were suffering from symptoms similar to those which present with cases of pancreatic cancer or mesothelioma. While the method appeared to distinguish between the patients successfully, Somalogic researchers say that more testing is required to hone a usable and reliable testing method.

“It’s very easy to discover biomarkers,” said Ostroff, referring to the genetic markers her company was researching, “it is very hard to validate them.”

She went on to say that the study’s next steps would involve eliminating factors which could cause false positives, and refining the accuracy of the tests.

“We’ll look at enough of these parameters to make sure we are looking at disease biomarkers,” she concluded.

Calretinin, a vitamin D-dependent calcium-binding protein, has been identified as a possible biomarker for malignant mesothelioma. Biomarkers, or substance anomalies in the bloodstream which correlate to certain health conditions, often help doctors to recognize diseases before other symptoms fully develop. In the case of calretinin, researchers are hoping that better understanding its properties and its connection to mesothelioma could help to warn victims of the cancer earlier than a traditional diagnosis.

Mesothelioma is a terminal cancer of the mesothelium, a soft tissue lining which lubricates and protects the body’s vital organs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos dust, fibers or products, and can take some ten to fifty years to fully develop. Microscopic particles of asbestos enter the body following accidental ingestion or inhalation, where they pass through the intestinal or lung walls and become entangled in the mesothelium. Once stuck in the soft tissue, they cause a scarring reaction in some people which develops into a malignant tumor over the course of years or even decades.

Mesothelioma is incredibly difficult to detect. Due to its relative rarity, the vague and general nature of its symptoms, and the fact that it requires a biopsy for successful diagnosis, many patients are not even aware of the disease until they only have six months remaining to live.

Blood screens which account for biomarkers such as calretinin could change all that. If certain substances in the blood are correlated with mesothelioma, they could help doctors to recognize the possibility before its too late to operate. Calretinin studies have yielded optimistic results so far, although researchers are hesitant to announce definite findings.

“Calretinin is one of the well-established immunohistochemical markers in the diagnostics of malignant mesothelioma,” explained calretinin researchers in a recent study. “Its utility as a diagnostic tool in human blood, however, is scarcely investigated. The aim of this study was to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for human calretinin in blood and to assess its usefulness as a potential minimally invasive diagnostic marker for MM.”

The study showed markedly increasing occurrences of the biomarker in asbestos workers versus normal, healthy volunteers, and also in mesothelioma patients compared to asbestos workers.

“On the basis of our initial results,” the researchers said, “we suggest that the measurement of calretinin in human serum and plasma might be a useful marker for the diagnosis of MM, alone or combined with other markers such as soluble mesothelin. However, these results are based on relatively small numbers and further studies on more patients, including subgroups of subjects with other tumors and non-malignant lung or pleural diseases, are needed to confirm our initial data. Such a study is presently ongoing.”

Eighteen people in West Virginia are preparing to sue one-hundred and forty-seven separate companies for asbestos related health issues according to Kanawah Circuit Court records. The complaints filed with the court claim that the companies’ negligent practices have caused serious health problems for the plaintiffs including mesothelioma among other asbestos related illnesses.

Mesothelioma, a terminal cancer caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos, attacks the soft lining of the body’s vital organs known as the mesothelium. When asbestos fibers are accidentally inhaled or ingested, they pass through many of the body’s tissues with ease due to their microscopic size and unique, hair-like shape. The fibers eventually become tangled in the sticky mesothelium, a tissue which lubricates organs to allow natural shifting and bending. The asbestos fibers cause a scarring reaction in the mesothelium which over years, decades or more, can cause the development of malignant tumors. Mesothelioma is a terminal disease with a grim prognosis averaging eighteen months of survival beyond diagnosis.

Asbestos products have been banned in much of the developed world. The United States, however, was unable to uphold a complete ban on the substance although it was attempted in the late 1980′s. The ban was lifted just two years after it was passed following a legal battle in which an asbestos manufacturing and distributing giant attacked and overturned the EPA’s asbestos ban on the grounds that it prevented the company from rightfully pursuing profits.

In spite of the failed asbestos ban, asbestos litigation in the United States has met with much success. Many companies who manufacture, distribute, supply, or purchase asbestos materials were aware of the substance’s dangers as early as the 1960′s, but failed to properly protect their employees. Individuals who have developed asbestos related diseases often pursue compensation from their former employer or their employer’s suppliers, and many have had favorable results.

While there is no cure for mesothelioma, increasing awareness in both the public, legal and medical sectors is working towards improving the disease’s prevention. Tightening state and federal restrictions, increasing pressure on asbestos product manufacturers, and an increasing public outcry concerning the production and distribution of asbestos materials are contributing towards eliminating mesothelioma in the United States and abroad.

The eighteen plaintiffs in West Virginia have claimed that the defendants failed to tell them about the dangers of asbestos, and knowingly put their health and well-being in danger.