Lung cancer is one most of the most common types of cancer and, like any other type of cancer, early detection improves a person’s chances of survival. The method to detect lung cancer in a patient is invasive, which involves extracting tissue from the lung for testing. Researchers believe they have found a better method.
A research conducted by Boston University found that testing the cells from the nose can detect lung cancer. The epithelial cells from inside the nose “share the same genetic markers that show up in people with lung cancer.” Early detection can save many lives, and the test may be helpful in detecting mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer caused by asbestos.
The researchers took swabs from the noses of 33 smokers suspected of having lung cancer. A special test called microarrays was used to determine the activity of 170 genes. The researchers discovered that two-thirds of the patients whose nasal cells were tested had lung cancer. They will conduct larger studies, and are hoping to develop a nasal marker for detecting lung cancer.
Early detection for any lung cancer patient is crucial, but especially for people who suffer from mesothelioma. This survival rate for this lung cancer is an average of 8 to 12 months. Mesothelioma is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, and affects thousands of people each year. Treating mesothelioma can be expensive but patients afflicted with this disease can consult a mesothelioma attorney to determine if they qualify for compensation.
Asbestos has been prevalently used in the construction industries, because many companies used the carcinogen, sufferers of asbestos-related diseases can contact a mesothelioma lawyer to get compensatory damages for their pain and suffering.
