The workup for a patient who is suspected of having peritoneal mesothelioma is similar to any other intra-abdominal cancer. The study includes a set of standard non-invasive tests such as routine laboratory tests, serum tumor markers and computed tomography (CT) scan of chest, abdomen and pelvis.
The routine laboratory tests are often not useful for diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma. Useful tumor markers for diagnosis and monitoring of peritoneal mesothelioma include CA 125 and CA 15-3. Among these, the CA 125, which is commonly elevated in cancers of the peritoneal surface and in the ovary, has proved the most useful, with a diagnostic sensitivity of 53.5%. The diagnostic sensitivity of CA 15-3 is usually high in breast cancer is 48.5% and is occasionally used in peritoneal mesothelioma. Other tumor markers such as CA 19-9 and CEA have virtually a role as tumor markers in peritoneal mesothelioma, the CA 19-9 is commonly elevated in gastric cancer and pancreatic (3.8%) and CEA in colorectal cancer (0%). However, they can be used to provide additional information when trying to exclude other tumors of gastric, pancreatic and colon. (more…)
