According to experts, the research published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (American Journal of Respiratory Medicine and Intensive Care) – will help doctors more accurately diagnose the cause of abnormalities in the lungs.

Construction malignant

Mesothelioma is a very difficult cancer to treat due to its location as the tumor does not seem to respond well to chemotherapy.

The disease can strike people who have no history of exposure to absesto, but overall, it is known that the main risk factor is the inhalation of mineral dust free.

Decades ago I used to use asbestos in construction materials and other products, so those most affected are usually the construction workers such as bricklayers, plumbers and electricistas.En developed countries have established regulations banning asbestos exposure and production with mineral materials. But in many other nations have no such restrictions. And because the development of mesothelioma can take many decades, experts believe the number of cases could increase in coming years.

Diagnosis difficult

“The accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity can be extremely difficult to diagnose because there are a variety of benign and malignant causes,” says Dr. Helen David, Center for Respiratory Medicine, University of Oxford, who led the research.

“But one of these causes malignant pleural mesothelioma, and although a relatively rare cancer incidence is rapidly increasing globally,” he adds.

Until now the standard test to detect mesothelioma in patients with pleural effusion is pleural fluid cytological examination, but this is not very accurate.

Dr. Davies and his team, looking for ways to distinguish mesothelioma as a cause of pleural effusion, focused on the mesothelin, a protein found in high levels in the pleural fluid of most patients with the disease.

The researchers analyzed samples of pleural fluid of more than 200 patients who had been referred to a specialist clinic in respiratorias.Descubrieron diseases that levels of the protein were almost six times higher in patients with mesothelioma in patients with secondary lung cancer and 10 times higher than in those whose behind wrong causes were benign.

According to Dr. Davies, “this study shows a way to identify more quickly and since the beginning of mesothelioma cases.

“Because mesothelioma has a median survival time of 12 months to minimize the number of invasive procedures and tests that patients need is vital to reduce death and how long to spend in hospital.

The researcher adds that “early diagnosis also allows for more rapid relief of symptoms and start other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

“And you can also encourage the patient to seek compensation for their condition once the diagnosis is confirmed,” says Helen Davies.

According to the World Health Organization, about 90,000 people die each year from diseases related to asbestos exposure. And 43,000 of these deaths are caused by malignant mesothelioma.