• Mesothelioma – General Information
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• NEW Developments in Diagnosis
• Risk Factors
• Other Asbestos Related Cancer

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I was excited to read a report today on www.asbestos.com (which, by the way, is an excellent source for news related to mesothelioma) (look for them in my blogroll) regarding a recently published report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that has hope for new, earlier detection of mesothelioma.

One of the difficulties in diagnosing mesothelioma is that it affects the tissues of the lining between the chest wall and the lungs. As a result, often, by the time the mesothelioma is detected with more traditional methods such as physical exams, x-rays, CT scans and surgical biopsies, it’s in advanced and untreatable stages.

But three new, less invasive, endoscopic procedures are proving to have better results at identifying mesothelioma. The report explains that each of these new procedures uses an endoscope to remove tissues or fluids with a fine needle. The three procedures are listed as transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA), endobronchial ultra-sound guided fine needle aspiration (EBUS-FNA), and transesophegeal endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy (EUS-FNA).

Studies are now being done to compare the findings among these three methods to determine which is the most sensitive for detecting the presence of cancerous cells in the lymph nodes of the chest. The journal says tests involved 138 patients in the U.S. believed to have lung cancer, all of whom underwent all three procedures in sequence. According to the report, the results of the study show the following:

• 30 % (42) of the patients had malignant lymph nodes
• EBUS-FNA detected 29 of the cancers. TBNA detected 15.
• EUS-FNA and EBUS-FNA used in combination detected 93% of the cancers! The combination also was able to detect malignancies in patiens who would not have been identified by CT scans of the chest.

In addition to the better results, the less-invasive procedures tend to better overall for patients, presenting less risk than more traditional surgical methods.

This study is referenced under Wallace, M, Pascual, J, Raimondo, M, et al. Minimally invasive endoscopic staging of suspected lung cancer. Journal of American Medical Association. 2008. 299(5) 540-546

To read the article in its entirety, visit http://www.asbestos.com/news/endoscopy-shows-promise-for-detecting-mesothelioma.html