Mesothelioma Diagnosis

Mesothelioma diagnosis can be complicated as the symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions and because of its relative rarity, many cases of mesothelioma are unfortunately misdiagnosed.

Most people begin the mesothelioma diagnosis by seeing their doctor who will carry out an examination and then refer to a specialist at the hospital. Then the mesothelioma diagnosis is often achieved with careful assessment of clinical and radiological results.Initially the mesothelioma diagnosis begins with a review of the patient’s medical and working history particularly focusing on any asbestos exposure.

To establish the mesothelioma diagnosis, a thorough physical examination may be undertaken including x-rays of the chest or abdomen, lung function tests and a CT scan or MRI. If any of the aforementioned tests prove suspect a biopsy will be performed to confirm the mesothelioma diagnosis.

If it is a confirmed mesothelioma diagnosis, the doctor will want to establish the extent of the disease or at what stage the disease is at.

To establish the stage, more tests will be undertaken in a careful attempt to ascertain whether the cancer has spread and if so, to which parts of the body. Understanding the stage of the mesothelioma assists the doctor plan the treatment.

Mesothelioma Prognosis

Mesothelioma has a long latency period, 50 or 60 years in some cases and may not be diagnosed until the patient is in the advanced stages of the cancer. This means that the prognosis for Mesothelioma tends to be rather bleak, with patients only surviving a year or two after the diagnosis is made. There are several factors that determine the prognosis for Mesothelioma:

How old is the patient? - Generally, younger patients will be stronger and more able to cope with the treatment than older patients who may have other problems such as higher blood pressure.

How advanced is the cancer? - The symptoms may be similar to those for other diseases or conditions, so the Mesothelioma may be well advanced before being properly diagnosed. This means it may well spread to other parts of the body.

The type of Mesothelioma? - Pleural mesothelioma carries the best rate of survival. Peritoneal and pericardial mesothelioma are harder to treat.

The type of Histology? - The type of histology depends on the characteristics of the cell structures and affected tissue.
50 percent of patients have Epithelial Histology. 10 - 20 percent of patients have Sarcomatoid Histology. 30 - 40 percent have both types, known as Biphasic or mixed.
Patients with the Epithelial type of Mesothelioma usually have a better prognosis than the other types.
A rarer histological type of mesothelioma is Papillary Mesothelioma, which is found in women in their 30s and 40s and is Epithelial in nature.

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