| | | | | | | | |

Mesothelioma Subtype Unrelated to Source or Degree of Asbestos Exposure

ByAlex Strauss

12131629_ResearcherThe source or degree of a mesothelioma patient’s asbestos exposure does not appear to have a direct impact on what mesothelioma subtype they develop.

That is according to the results of a newly-published study out of Australia, a country with one of the world’s highest rates of asbestos cancer.

To make their determination, mesothelioma researchers reviewed malignant mesothelioma cases from the Western Australian Mesothelioma Registry between 1962 and 2012, comparing each patient’s subtype with their exposure history.

Understanding Mesothelioma Subtypes

Mesothelioma tumor subtypes are determined by subtle differences at the cellular level. Subtype is determined by examining mesothelioma cells under the microscope. Understanding mesothelioma subtypes is an important part of developing effective mesothelioma treatments since the different types respond differently to different therapies and have different prognoses.

Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common subtype, accounting for as many as 70 percent of all diagnosed mesothelioma cases. Although all varieties of mesothelioma are difficult to treat, epithelioid mesothelioma tends to be the most responsive to conventional treatments.

The least common subtype is sarcomatoid. Mesothelioma tumors made up of spindle-shaped sarcomatoid cells tend to grow and spread the fastest and be hardest to treat. About 10 percent of mesothelioma patients have this subtype.

Biphasic mesothelioma is the second-most common subtype. This type of mesothelioma contains both epithelioid and sarcomatoid cells and makes up about 20 to 30 percent of all mesothelioma cases.

Asbestos Exposure and Subtype

To determine whether a link between subtype and exposure exists, the Australian team considered the total number of days each mesothelioma patient was exposed to asbestos, years since their first exposure, the source of the exposure (occupational or environmental), the form of asbestos (raw or processed) and the type of asbestos.

“There was no strong evidence of a consistent role of asbestos exposure indicators in determining the histological subtype of malignant mesothelioma,” writes lead author Dr. Peter Franklin with the School of Population Health at the University of Western Australia.

The study did find that patients with biphasic mesothelioma were slightly more likely than other subtypes to have been exposed to asbestos at work (as opposed to in their environment) and to have primarily encountered raw fibers.

The findings appear in the newest issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Source:

Franklin, P, et al, “Asbestos exposure and histological subtype of malignant mesothelioma”, August 19, 2016, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epub ahead of print

Similar Posts

  • | |

    Mesothelioma survivor Paul Kraus, alive and well 19 years after writing “Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers

    ByAlex Strauss

    Paul Kraus is considered the longest documented mesothelioma survivor in the world. He was diagnosed in 1997 with mesothelioma so widespread that he was given little hope of survival. Not willing to give up, he worked with a team of doctors to create his own tailored treatment protocol. This protocol included dramatic life style change, experimental therapies, dietary changes, mind-body medicine, and other modalities. Paul was fortunate. The protocol he and his doctors created helped him keep the mesothelioma in check. His book “Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers: A Patient’s Guide” details his cancer voyage, the decisions he made, and his philosophies about health and healing. This book is now the best-selling mesothelioma book in the world and has inspired…

  • | |

    Doctors Describe "Concrete Therapeutic Approach" for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A team of medical researchers in Italy have achieved what they are calling “excellent” tumor control and survival results in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma typically spreads quickly across the lung-encasing membrane called the pleura. There is no known cure but treatments are improving. In the current prospective study, 20 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients underwent radical pleurectomy/decortication followed by high doses of radiation. After surgeons removed as much of the visible mesothelioma tumor and surrounding tissue as possible, patients received 50Gy of radiation to the effected side of their chest, delivered in 25 fractions. Regions of particular concern for mesothelioma regrowth got an extra radiation “boost” to…

  • |

    Mesothelioma Still Rising Despite Ban in Ireland

    ByAlex Strauss

    A study in Ireland confirms that it can take many years for a ban on asbestos to have a measurable impact on a country’s rates of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is the most serious of a list of diseases – including lung cancer, pleural plaques, asbestosis, and others – linked with exposure to asbestos dust. Affecting the linings around the lungs and other organs, mesothelioma is often resistant to most cancer treatments and may be fatal within a year of diagnosis. According to the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, Ireland is one of 55 countries that have enacted some type of asbestos ban. However, although Ireland banned asbestos in 2000, a new study published in Cancer Epidemiology shows that incidence of the…

  • | |

    Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new study says there is not enough evidence to support the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of pain associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland reviewed a range of past studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy by searching databases that date back as far as 1974. To be eligible to be included in their review, the study had to focus on malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy given “with the intent of improving pain”. The study also had to report doses and fractionation of the radiotherapy and how the pain responded. In all, the researchers found eight studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy that met the criteria. Two of the studies were prospective…

  • |

    Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Australia’s Cancer Council is trying to educate home renovators about their risk for mesothelioma with a new e-learning course. Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of mesothelioma in the world, largely because of several asbestos mining operations that were once located there. Although asbestos has been banned from building products in Australia since 1989, asbestos-linked diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis continue to pose a serious health concern. While mesothelioma has traditionally occurred among people exposed to asbestos on the job, Australia is now bracing for another “wave” of mesothelioma victims among homeowners who encounter asbestos while doing their own renovation projects. Cancer Council Australia has launched “kNOw asbestos in your home” in an effort to…

  • |

    Ape Virus Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumors in Lab

    ByAlex Strauss

    A virus that causes leukemia in gibbon apes may have the power to help fight malignant mesothelioma in people. Gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV) has been tested for years as a viral vector, a carrier of therapeutic genetic information, in the treatment of various human illnesses, including cancer. A new study in Japan compared GALV with a leukemia virus derived from mice to see which carrier communicated most efficiently with mesothelioma cells. While both types of viruses replicated in most of the mesothelioma cell lines tested, the mouse-derived virus was not effective in a mesothelioma cell line called ACC-MESO-1. In this cell line, only the GALV spread efficiently both in culture and in mice that had been given human mesothelioma…