Diagnosing Mesothelioma

1. Physical Examination
As with all diseases, a doctor begins the mesothelioma diagnosis by doing a complete physical exam and reviewing your medical history. Because mesothelioma is almost always caused by breathing in asbestos exposure (see Causes of Mesothelioma), you should tell your doctor about your exposure to asbestos if you suspect you may have mesothelioma.After performing the physical exam, a doctor should have x-rays of the chest performed and, in some cases, pulmonary function tests to determine if the symptoms are consistent with malignant mesothelioma.

2. CT Scans and MRI's
In many cases, a doctor may order CT scans and/or MRI's to aid in the mesothelioma diagnosis. These tools allow a doctor to assess the size, location, and extent of the mesothelioma tumor in the chest or abdomen.

3. Biopsy to Diagnose Mesothelioma
All of the steps described above are only preliminary indications of mesothelioma. If, after performing these tests, a doctor suspects mesothelioma, a biopsy should be taken to confirm the mesothelioma diagnoses.

A biopsy is the procedure used for obtaining a tissue sample of the tumor. The two most common methods for removing tissue samples are a thorascoscopy and a broncoscopy.

A thoracoscopy is obtained by inserting a telescope-like instrument connected to a video camera (thoracoscope) through a small incision in the chest. The doctor then removes the tumor using special forceps with the aid of the camera. This procedure is used for diagnosing both pleural mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma.

A bronchoscopy involves inserting a flexible lighted tube through the mouth into the bronchi to remove tissue in the airway. This procedure is used for diagnosing pleural mesothelioma.

Although a biopsy is the most effective procedure for diagnosing mesothelioma, malignant mesothelioma cells can look like other types of cancer. Therefore,special laboratory testsare sometimes performed or electron microscopes are used to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma.