Mesothelioma Treatment Gets Boost with New Diagnostic Test

Israeli-based MicroRNA company, Rosetta Genomics, has made a giant leap in cancer diagnosis by announcing the commercial availability of its third diagnostic test, miRview (TM) meso.

This breakthrough marks the first molecularly-based test that can accurately diagnose mesothelioma from other types of cancers found in the lung.

MicroRNAs are recently-discovered RNAs that consist of a chain of nucleotide units, each made of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar and a phosphate. Although similar to DNA, RNA is single-stranded, while DNA is double-stranded. MicroRNAs provide the ability to treat and diagnose a variety of human illnesses and conditions.

One of the most devastating types of asbestos-related disease is known as malignant mesothelioma, a fatal lung ailment that is directly linked to asbestos exposure. One of the most difficult tasks for physicians that treat mesothelioma is diagnosing the illness, making the test especially important to treating the disease at an early stage of development. 

Diagnosis of the disease does not typically occur until the later stages of development have been reached, equating to a poor patient prognosis. Symptoms and warning signs of mesothelioma typically include shortness of breath, chest pain and weight loss, resembling symptoms felt by other less serious conditions. Most individuals who develop mesothelioma contract the disease through occupational exposure where they inhaled airborne asbestos fibers were exposed to asbestos dust through other means while on the job.

Rosetta Genomics is one of the world’s leading developers of microRNA-based diagnostic tools that offer patients and physicians an objective method of identifying many types of cancer. The company believes that using microRNAs as biomarkers in the development of diagnostic tools will enable several advantages over other methods.

“Ruling out mesothelioma from lung cancer for individuals that were exposed to asbestos can be difficult and challenging,” noted Harvey Pass, MD, Division Chief for Thoracic Surgery and Oncology at the New York University Langone Medical Center.

The hope of early cancer detection for asbestos victims is to increase survival rates and address significant needs in the medical field for the next century. Rosetta Genomics’ efforts in leading the development of microRNA-based diagnostic tools will hopefully continue to advance future patient care and management.

“I am sure that this test will become an important tool for both oncologists and pathologists in obtaining the right diagnosis in these patients,” Pass said.

For more information on mesothelioma treatment, visit the Mesothelioma Cancer Center.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 3:28 pm and is filed under Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.