A new radiographic approach developed by a Wayne State University School of Medicine associate professor will assist in earlier detection of asbestos-related diseases.

Michael Harbut, M.D., M.P.H., co-director of the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and chief of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine for the School of Medicine, announced the use of new technology developed by Carmen Endress, M.D., F.A.C.R., to aid in the diagnosis of asbestos-related lung disease during the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization’s annual conference in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Dr. Endress is an associate professor of Radiology for the School of Medicine and a radiologist at the NCVAC.

Radiographic approaches developed by Dr. Endress “allow us to visualize lesions caused by asbestos exposure in three-dimensional detail and often at a much earlier stage than that of the current standard radiographic techniques,” Dr. Harbut reported.

The new approach involves taking images obtained on the 64-slice high resolution CT scan and enhancing them using the Vitrea® imaging software program developed by Vital Images Inc.

"The benefits of this new approach include the possibility of earlier detection; better differentiation between patients with scarring on the lungs and other diseases; assistance in determining why some people who have thickening on the covering of the lungs have uncontrolled, unrelenting pain; and potentially increased success in the overall diagnosis and treatment of asbestos-related disease, Dr. Harbut explained.

"It’s my sincere hope that with this new approach and enhanced technology we will help reduce the death rate caused by asbestos-related diseases, reduce the suffering by patients and their loved ones, and make a significant contribution to medicine," Dr. Endress said.

The approach could also have a significant public-health impact.

“If we can identify the ‘sentinel’ or first cases of asbestosis or lung cancer at an early stage, then we can help identify asbestos exposures in places where it might not have previously been suspected,” Dr. Harbut said. “Such identification of early detection could help to reduce the death rate from asbestos-related diseases."

This new approach to chest radiography, he added, could also help reduce cases of fraud that have been reported in asbestos litigation, due to the clarity and sophistication of the images that can help identify asbestos-related cases.

The use of the technology in the diagnosis and treatment of asbestos-related cancers and high-malignancy potential asbestos-related diseases represents another first for Karmanos Cancer Institute scientists and physicians. Previously, NCVAC researchers were among the first to discover the value of osteopontin – a tumor marker of mesothelioma – and published this finding in the New England Journal of Medicine. Karmanos workers have also reported the potential value of soluble mesothelin-related peptide, another tumor marker, in screening for mesothelioma.

In response to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's identification of major sources of public asbestos exposure in Michigan, and to address the need for early diagnosis and aggressive treatment of asbestos-related diseases, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the WSUCenter for Occupational and Environmental Medicine joined forces to establish the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers. COEM has had a long interest in asbestos-related diseases and the Karmanos Cancer Institute is heavily involved in both clinical and basic research on asbestos-related cancers, enabling the two centers to rapidly bring together the expertise and resources necessary to study the problem.