Types of Mesothelioma: Diagnosis and screening

The National Cancer Institute of the definition of screening for cancer is the test or examination of the people of the first signs of a certain type of cancer even though they have no symptoms, this is the best way to achieve a diagnosis what soon as possible. Early detection and diagnosis is especially important for people with a history of exposure to asbestos due to the latency period (up to 30 years) before symptoms of cancer malignant mesothelioma may become apparent.

Early signs of mesothelioma aid diagnosis:

Recognizing early symptoms of malignant mesothelioma can help in the diagnosis. Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea) and / or chest pains, fever, nausea and anemia; other signals are hoarseness, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), or coughing up blood (hemoptysis). For many who suffer from pleural mesothelioma, there may be pain in the chest or lower back. Those people with peritoneal mesothelioma may experience an expansion of waist size or abdominal pain resulting from the growth of cancer cells in the abdomen. Since many of these symptoms are also caused by less severe disease, it may be difficult to recognize asbestos-related diseases in the early stages. Because of this difficulty in early diagnosis of cancer and mesothelioma asbestos, the best way to determine the risk to health is to consult a doctor for an initial review, which may include a lung function test (PFT) and radiographs.

The screening methods for identifying asbestos-related diseases:

After an initial physical examination, the doctor may have to look inside your chest cavity with a thorascope for accurate diagnosis. During this procedure thoracoscopy, a cut will be made in the chest and a small piece of tissue (biopsy) can be removed for examination. While you may feel some pressure, as a rule, not pain.
Another special tool that can be used is the peritoneoscope, allowing for a review within her abdomen. This instrument is inserted into an opening made in the abdomen, and a biopsy sample can be taken.

If the presence of fluid is indicated by any of these procedures, the doctor may drain by inserting a needle into the affected area. Removal of chest fluid is called thoracentesis; removal of abdominal fluid is called paracentesis.

Other screening methods for the diagnosis of asbestos-related diseases include various tests image. In addition to the X-ray methods, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET). A more recent and promising screening method is computed tomography (CT) scan.