MesotheliomaAid.Org, a prominent reference site for topical articles and useful facts for patients and their families who are dealing with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related lung diseases, has gathered the latest information on the pathology of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Oncologists, medical researchers and other scientists have been working for years to break down the process of how the deadly disease starts, grows and spreads throughout the body.
The results of these studies have created a classification system to categorize the characteristics of the malignant cells in mesothelioma tumors:
During a biopsy procedure, a surgeon extracts a portion of the tumor for analysis. Laboratory examinations can determine which category best fits the tumor’s qualities.
At this point, scientists have yet to discover a single genetic marker that can differentiate a malignant mesothelioma tumor from a benign growth with perfect accuracy. Instead, laboratory technicians employ a number of different methods to determine the type and structure of the malignancy.
Another factor that hampers the diagnostic process is the time lag between the patient’s exposure to asbestos and when the patient develops symptoms. In numerous documented cases, the time difference can be as much as thirty or forty years. With so many factory workers, construction specialists and military veterans having been exposed to asbestos over the last fifty years, experts are predicting a huge increase in the incidence rate for mesothelioma in the next ten to twenty years.
The immediacy of the impending spike in the disease is creating an incentive for researchers to develop more and better diagnostic techniques. A new method, which is showing some potential, is the use of a “serum marker”, a particular indicator detectable in a special blood test that distinguishes a specific disease. Since cells release their waste products into the bloodstream, the idea is that these serum marker tests can identify specific types of cancer by their extruded wastes. The most promising diagnostic assay technique for mesothelioma thus far has been MESOMARK, which has recently earned the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has shown remarkable effectiveness in diagnosing both epithelioid and biphasic tumors.
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