http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15015960%255E1702,00.html

By Katherine Danks
19apr05

AUSTRALIAN researchers have developed a world-first blood test which could help in the early detection of mesothelioma, a deadly asbestos-related cancer of the lung lining.

About 700 people every year are diagnosed with the disease in Australia, which has the highest reported incidence in the world.

It can take up to 30 years for symptoms of the condition to develop so most sufferers are identified at an advanced stage and die within a year.

The non-invasive blood test developed by University of Western Australia Professor Bruce Robinson and a team of researchers is a breakthrough in the early detection of mesothelioma.

Under existing arrangements, diagnosis is a long process which includes blood tests, chest x-rays, CT scans, drainage and laboratory analysis of the pleural fluid to help differentiate mesothelioma from other similar conditions.

The new blood test, named MESOMARK, was originally developed for cervical cancer at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute in the US, but Professor Robinson has adapted it for testing mesothelioma.

Dr Nick Pavlakis, a leading mesothelioma researcher in Sydney, said the blood test would be a valuable diagnostic aid for doctors.

"The test is a breakthrough because it's a simple blood test, it could therefore be applied to patients who are at risk, those who have a history of exposure or symptoms of the disease," he said.

The blood test measures the amount of protein in the blood, and a patient who returned a low reading would register a negative result.

But if the patient returned a high reading they would be sent for a second test to confirm the result.

Former painting contractor Erl Carlsson, who has mesothelioma, said the test would be valuable in monitoring the health of his family.

Mr Carlsson, 59, who lives in Narrabeen, on Sydney's northern beaches, was diagnosed with the disease in October last year after 30 years of sanding back asbestos fibro in his work as a painter.

He is now concerned for the health of his wife Barbara, who washed his clothes with asbestos dust on them, and children Andrew, 31, and Jenny, 32, who often worked with him when they were younger.

"It would really help the treatment, it's usually 20 or 30 years before you find out you have it ... it could have helped me too," Mr Carlsson said.

Dr Pavlakis said the amount of people diagnosed with the disease was expected to peak between 2010 and 2020 when the symptoms had fully developed.

"What we are seeing today is a product of exposure decades ago, so even though the legislation changed to reduce occupational exposure to asbestos fibres we have a decade lag time between the exposure and the disease," he said.

Symptoms for mesothelioma include breathlessness and chest pain.

Treatment, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, aims to prolong life and keep the person as comfortable as possible.