Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

A new joint study between Japanese and Egyptian researchers may have discovered an alternative method of diagnosing mesothelioma and lung cancer.  Researchers from the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Sohag Faculty of Medicine in Sohag, Egypt and the Department of Oncological Medical Services at the Institute of Health Biosciences which is part of the University of Tokushima Graduate School in Japan examined 5-Aminolevulinic acid-induced fluorescence as a potential method to diagnose mesothelioma. 

The research built on the fact that following the administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), endogenously synthesized protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) becomes an effective photosensitizer for photodynamic diagnosis (PDD). Similar applications have been applied to various other cancers, including brain tumors, with significant results.

After test cells were incubated for a period of time, 5-ALA was added and the samples were studied under microscopes.  In vitro and in vivo samples (from cancerous mice) were both used to test this new method of diagnosis and both samples showed definitive fluorescence.

Under fluorescent lighting the cancerous cells were much more visible (measurably 1.1-4.5 times more so) than similar cells exposed to generic white light.  In fact, these cancerous cells tend to “glow” with a significant red tint.  Those results alone were enough for scientists to suggest that fluorescence diagnosis could possibly be used with patients suffering from intrapleural malignant tumors.  As an added bonus, researchers found that normal tissue adjacent to tumors did not fluoresce, meaning that the chance of false positives and unnecessary further testing would be radically decreased.

Mesothelioma tumors are caused by invasive asbestos fibers that are inhaled after becoming airborne.  It is the nature of these fibers to work into the soft tissues of the lungs and respiratory tract rather than to be expelled.  These fibers often pass through the lung tissue and get caught in the pleura, the tissue which lines the body cavity and surrounds the lungs.  Once there, these fibers instigate the growth of cancerous tumors. 

If the research pans out, it may be possible to detect even early-stage lesions and micro metastases in mesothelioma patients and treatment options could be applied sooner.  This could significantly increase the lifespan of certain mesothelioma patients and most likely increase the quality of life as well. 

Currently accepted methods of diagnosis leave far too much to the patient’s own sensation – the recognition of physical symptoms.  However, in addition to this new fluorescence approach, scientist have also discovered an “electric nose” that may be able to “sniff” out mesothelioma in patients without them ever having to undergo surgery.

Researchers are also hopeful that in addition to lung cancer and mesothelioma this new method of PDD detection may be applied to other forms of cancer in the future.