Is There A Blood Test For Mesothelioma That Can Be Used For Diagnosis In Louisiana?

In modern medicine, a simple blood test can be used to diagnose a variety of ailments and give doctors definitive evidence of particular conditions.

While blood tests are used by doctors to help diagnose mesothelioma, mesothelioma blood tests typically only provide additional evidence as part of a broader diagnostic panel. Biopsies and imaging technologies continue to be the mainstay diagnostic tools in detecting mesothelioma in Louisiana.

That doesn’t mean that blood tests don’t have value for patients at higher risk of developing mesothelioma, such as people who worked at asbestos-contaminated worksites. A variety of mesothelioma blood tests exist, with varying degrees of accuracy and availability.

But the most trusted by healthcare professionals today is the MESOMARK assay. The MESOMARK assay is sensitive to a particular protein that the body releases in the presence of mesothelioma cells.

The MESOMARK blood test can provide enormous advantages to patients in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, not all mesothelioma tumors produce the protein that MESOMARK tests for, and there are other cancers that can produce the same elevated protein, so a blood test alone can’t tell you or your doctor with absolute certainty whether you have mesothelioma cells in your body.

Still, blood tests for mesothelioma are a promising diagnostic technology that is beginning to come into its own. While their use today is primarily as an adjunct to other tools, researchers are constantly working to develop new and better techniques that can be applied to simple, non-invasive approaches that can help catch mesothelioma in its earliest states and radically alter the course of treatment and a patient’s prognosis.

At The Gertler Law Firm, we connect people in Louisiana who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma to the resources they need to fight the disease. Call us today at (504) 527-8767 for a free consultation with an experienced New Orleans, Louisiana mesothelioma attorney.