Mesothelioma Diagnosis

How Mesothelioma is Diagnosed?????

All patients have a unique path to a diagnosis, but the most important factors to an accurate diagnosis are imaging scans and biopsies. Doctors use several tests to diagnose mesothelioma. Most people initially undergo a basic chest X-ray to check for any abnormalities. If abnormal growth is detected, a doctor will recommend a more detailed imaging scan like a PET scan, CT scan or MRI. If mesothelioma is suspected, a biopsy will be recommended. In a biopsy, a tissue sample is collected to confirm the presence of mesothelioma cells.
                                   

Blood tests for mesothelioma are also available, but they do not confirm the presence of mesothelioma. Research and development is underway to determine if mesothelioma blood tests can aid in early diagnosis for at-risk former asbestos workers.

Staging

There are at least five systems that doctors use for the staging of pleural mesothelioma. Older systems like those created by Doctors. Butchart and Sugarbaker did not classify tumors with tumor-node-metastasis descriptors, so the International Mesothelioma Interest Group developed the detailed staging system in 1995. This system is the most widely used staging system for mesothelioma.