Based on Your Reading:
Get a Mesothelioma Treatment Guide
Find a Top Mesothelioma Doctor
Access Help Paying for Treatment
Radiology is the use of X-rays and other technologies to diagnose and treat disease. It plays an important role in mesothelioma diagnosis and treatment. Radiology includes diagnostic imaging such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs and PET scans, as well as interventional radiology for certain procedures.
Written by Dr. Kristopher Bunting • Edited By Walter Pacheco
The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com has provided patients and their loved ones the most updated and reliable information on mesothelioma and asbestos exposure since 2006.
Our team of Patient Advocates includes a medical doctor, a registered nurse, health services administrators, veterans, VA-accredited Claims Agents, an oncology patient navigator and hospice care expert. Their combined expertise means we help any mesothelioma patient or loved one through every step of their cancer journey.
More than 30 contributors, including mesothelioma doctors, survivors, health care professionals and other experts, have peer-reviewed our website and written unique research-driven articles to ensure you get the highest-quality medical and health information.
My family has only the highest compliment for the assistance and support that we received from The Mesothelioma Center. This is a staff of compassionate and knowledgeable individuals who respect what your family is experiencing and who go the extra mile to make an unfortunate diagnosis less stressful. Information and assistance were provided by The Mesothelioma Center at no cost to our family.LashawnMesothelioma patient’s daughter
Bunting, K. (2024, March 7). Mesothelioma Radiology. Asbestos.com. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://www.asbestos.com/treatment/radiology/
Bunting, Kristopher. "Mesothelioma Radiology." Asbestos.com, 7 Mar 2024, https://www.asbestos.com/treatment/radiology/.
Bunting, Kristopher. "Mesothelioma Radiology." Asbestos.com. Last modified March 7, 2024. https://www.asbestos.com/treatment/radiology/.
Diagnosing mesothelioma is extremely difficult, requiring laboratory tests, imaging tests and a biopsy. Diagnostic scans for mesothelioma can include X-rays, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. Each of these techniques has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to identifying malignant mesothelioma.
There is no single scan or blood test that can determine whether you have mesothelioma.
A variety of tests, including different types of imaging, are needed for diagnosis. Part of diagnosing mesothelioma is ruling out other diseases that could be causing your symptoms, including other cancers.
Imaging scans are also used for mesothelioma staging. Accurate staging requires determining the tumor’s size and location, whether lymph nodes are involved and if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. Because it can find cancer cells throughout the body, PET/CT scans are a valuable tool for determining the stage of mesothelioma. Research also shows that PET/CT is effective for tracking response to treatment. It can show whether chemotherapy or other treatments are killing cancer cells throughout the body.
Radiology imaging is also used to guide needles for biopsy — the only way to definitively diagnose mesothelioma. Using X-rays or CT, your doctor can precisely guide a needle to obtain tissue samples from suspected tumors. This is especially important for very small tumors, tumors that are difficult to reach or in people who are not candidates for a surgical biopsy.
Imaging scans can identify all four types of mesothelioma: Pleural, peritoneal, pericardial and testicular. However, some types of imaging scans are better suited than others for visualizing mesothelioma in different locations in the body.
CT scans are the primary type of imaging used to detect mesothelioma. They can provide a cross-section of the chest with much more detail than an X-ray and see tumors or other abnormalities in the abdomen and groin. MRI scans are similar to CT but offer higher resolution and can find small tumors, lymph nodes and metastases that are difficult to see with CT.
The most versatile imaging technique for mesothelioma diagnosis is PET/CT imaging. It can detect very small tumors anywhere in the body and can be used to help diagnose every type of mesothelioma. However, PET scans are very expensive and aren’t available everywhere.
On a chest X-ray, pleural or pericardial mesothelioma tumors can appear as wispy white areas in and around the lungs. Calcified tumors, sometimes seen in pericardial mesothelioma, appear bright white.
Chest X-rays produce a black-and-white image where bones are visible in white, and healthy, air-filled lungs are dark or black. Most abnormalities show up as lighter areas that are hazy or solid. Tumors and scarring can also distort the normal anatomy of the chest. Compressed lungs or a raised diaphragm can be visible on an X-ray.
Because X-rays are only 2D, it can be difficult to tell whether a tumor is inside the lung, in the pleura surrounding the lung or in the mediastinum around the heart. A CT scan or other imaging study is needed to see a cross-section of the chest.
X-rays don’t clearly show peritoneal or testicular mesothelioma tumors, but they can sometimes show other abnormalities. CT and MRI scans can see these types of mesothelioma as well as pleural or pericardial mesothelioma. CT, MRI and PET/CT all provide more detail than regular X-rays.
Get a Mesothelioma Treatment Guide
Find a Top Mesothelioma Doctor
Access Help Paying for Treatment
Doctors can use radiology imaging to see inside the body while performing procedures for diagnosis and treatment. With ultrasound, CT or MRI, doctors can precisely place needles and similar instruments into the body.
They can reach tumors that are very small or lie deep within the body with very long needles without the need for surgery. These procedures include fine-needle biopsies, tumor ablation and procedures to drain fluid.
One of the most exciting advances in interventional radiology treatments for mesothelioma is transarterial chemoperfusion. This procedure uses CT-guided placement of needles to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into the arteries that are providing blood to a tumor. This allows the chemotherapy drugs to attack the cancer while minimizing unwanted side effects.
Radiology-guided procedures do carry some risk of bleeding, infection and injury. However, these procedures are much less risky than invasive surgery and require less time for recovery. This is very important for people who cannot undergo surgery because of their health.
Interventional radiology is the use of radiology to perform procedures that not only diagnose but also treat disease. This includes imaging-guided procedures as well as radiation treatments.
Radiation therapy is used less often than surgery and chemotherapy to treat mesothelioma. However, new radiation treatments and other interventional radiology procedures are becoming increasingly popular because of their effectiveness and relative safety.
Radiation treatments for mesothelioma can improve survival, reduce pain and prevent metastasis throughout the body. These treatments can include external-beam radiation, intensity-modulated radiation therapy or 3D conformal radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation — the harmful type of radiation — to kill rapidly dividing cells, including cancer cells.
Radiation treatments for mesothelioma primarily use external radiation that is “beamed” through the body to reach the tumor. New techniques minimize exposure of healthy tissue to harmful radiation using smaller amounts of radiation aimed at the tumor from different directions.
Radiology imaging and interventional radiology are both extremely important tools in the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. New advances are occurring constantly, and clinical trials are developing cutting-edge therapies to improve the lives of those with mesothelioma.
Your web browser is no longer supported by Microsoft. Update your browser for more security, speed and compatibility.
If you are looking for mesothelioma support, please contact our Patient Advocates at (855) 404-4592