14:28 AEDT Thu Apr 19 2012
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Gold nuggetCrazy Olympic training regimes '); thisElem.before(twitElem); new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'search', search: 'ripsteve isad', id: 'twtr-search-widget', interval: 10000, title: '', subject: '', width: 310, height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: '#000203', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#ffffff', color: '#444444', links: '#1986b5' } }, features: { scrollbar: false, loop: true, live: true, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: true, toptweets: true, behavior: 'default' } }).render().start(); } A simple blood test could be used in future to diagnose the difficult to identify asbestos-related disease mesothelioma.
Researchers from Sydney's Asbestos Diseases Research Institute (ADRI) have found markers in the blood of mesothelioma patients which could pave the way for simple and less invasive tests for the aggressive cancer.
Currently, testing for mesothelioma often requires a biopsy of tumour tissue, a time-consuming and invasive surgical process.
Other tests on cells from fluid on the lung do not always provide a concrete diagnosis.
Senior researcher Glen Reid said the discovery of higher levels of molecules, called microRNA, in mesothelioma patients' blood than people without the disease could lead to a simple blood test being developed.
Such a test could bypass invasive and lengthy biopsy procedures and diagnose patients earlier, he said.
"This avoids the invasiveness of trying to take a biopsy," Dr Reid told AAP.
"If you can take a sample of blood and have an accurate marker that tells you if the disease is present or not, that would be a great leap forward for mesothelioma sufferers," Dr Reid told AAP.
"It's still a very devastating and deadly disease, so if we can start the treatment earlier that will give the patient an advantage."
The average life expectancy for mesothelioma sufferers after diagnosis is about one year, he said.
The researchers found the levels of microRNA in mesothelioma patients' blood was four times higher than people without the disease.
The NSW study compared the blood samples of 15 cancer patients with 13 healthy people.
Researchers also analysed another set of patients from WA, with similar results.
Dr Reid said researchers were currently identifying more mesothelioma patients to test the result's accuracy in a larger group.
Australia has the highest incidence per capita of mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos in the world, according to the ADRI.
About 700 new cases are diagnosed each year, an incidence which is expected to increase for the next 10 to 20 years due to the widespread use of asbestos.
