Mesothelioma is an asbestos related cancer that can affect the heart, lungs or abdominal organs in the body. Attacking people who have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibres on a regular basis, this cancer has an unusually long latency period and symptoms may not become evident for several decades in most cases. This means that, by the time a diagnosis is made, the disease is often in its latter stages making it difficult of no impossible to treat effectively. And because the symptoms of mesothelioma are very non-specific and resemble symptoms associated with other more common disease, it is also very difficult to diagnose effectively.

However, late in 2003, the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) reported a breakthrough in this field with the development of a blood test that may be able to identify this disease. It is hoped that the blood test will enable mesothelioma to be detected and monitored whilst still in its early stages, making it far more likely to be able to administer timely and effective treatment to the patient.

Dr I Hellstrom, who led the PNRI team in this research, stated that mesothelioma cells release soluble mesotholin-related proteins into the bloodstream, and it is these proteins that can be picked up by the blood test, indicating the presence of mesothelioma in the subject. There are currently no other blood tests available that can actually detect the presence of this cancer, and the current testing used is both time consuming and often inconclusive. Dr Hellstrom described the blood test as ‘…a very important breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma’.

It is through that the blood test could prove very useful in detecting early signs of this cancer in subjects that have been exposed to asbestos, which will help to counteract the typically long latency period that is normally associated with mesothelioma. The success of this blood test could mean that patients are diagnosed far earlier and will therefore still be at the stage where current treatment could prove effective to at least some degree.

Current tests used for testing patients for mesothelioma include fluid tests, x-rays and imaging, and tissue biopsies. Although the tissue biopsy is the preferred and most conclusive method of testing at the moment, it is still very often too late by the time the diagnosis has been made. However, the simplicity of this new blood test will mean that patients can be tested for the presence of mesothelioma quickly and easily, and the cancer can be detected in its earlier stages.

There are many other clinical trials and tests being performed into mesothelioma drugs and treatments by organizations all over the world. Several weeks ago, on 5 th February 2004, a new drug to treat mesothelioma was approved by the FDA. The drug, Alimta, was approved following extensive trials, and has proven to extend the life of malignant pleural mesothelioma patients by several months. The discovery and development of drugs and tests such as these give hope to both patients and professionals that an effective treatment that will treat the disease at all stages will one day be available.