Author: Alex Strauss

Chemotherapy | Europe | International | Surgery | Treatments | Updates

HIPEC Variation May Benefit Frail Mesothelioma Patients
ByAlex Strauss March 22, 2015May 20, 2019

A method of delivering heated chemotherapy drugs to the abdomen after the surgical wound has been closed may produce better outcomes than an open technique for fragile or elderly mesothelioma patients. The study was conducted by surgery departments at three different Greek hospitals. Study subjects included 105 patients with either mesothelioma or another peritoneal malignancy. All of the patients were recommended for cytoreductive surgery to remove as much of their cancer as possible followed by a rinse of heated chemotherapy drugs at the site of the surgery (HIPEC) to kill any residual cancer cells and prevent recurrence. Sixty of the patients with mesothelioma or another cancer received HIPEC using an open abdomen technique. In this technique, the chemotherapy solution is…

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Asbestos | Biomarkers | Biopsy | Diagnosis | Europe | International | Prognosis | Updates

When “Breast Cancer” is Actually Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss March 19, 2015March 27, 2019

A new case study out of Italy highlights the importance of using all of the available tools – including patient history – to distinguish mesothelioma from other types of cancer. Oncologists in the Ob/Gyn department at Umberto I Hospital in Rome have just published the details of a female patient who was originally believed to have breast cancer. The 49-year-old hairdresser was found to have a hard lump, about 3 centimeters in diameter, lying against the lowest layers of her right breast. But when her doctors performed a biopsy and tested the cells, they discovered that the lump was not what they thought it was. “Estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors were negative,” writes Dr. Marialuisa Framarino-Dei-Malatesta, the paper’s lead author….

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Biomarkers | Chemotherapy | Diagnosis | Europe | International | Prognosis | Treatments | Updates

Mesothelioma Prognosis: Some Markers More Useful than Others
ByAlex Strauss March 16, 2015March 25, 2019

Deciding which treatments to try and determining whether they are working are two of the biggest challenges for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. But a team of researchers in the UK is trying to make the process a little easier. They have identified three markers the say can help doctors predict prognosis in mesothelioma patients and monitor their response to treatment. The South West Area Mesothelioma and Pemetrexed trial, based in the Southwestern part of England, recruited 73 pleural mesothelioma patients between 2008 and 2011. Fifty-eight of the patients elected to undergo chemotherapy with pemetrexed (Alimta) for their mesothelioma and 15 opted only for best supportive care, without chemotherapy. Before treatment began, the researchers used PET-CT to test each patient’s baseline…

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Asia | Chemotherapy | International | Mesothelioma | New Drugs | New Studies | Research | Treatments | Updates

New Delivery System May Make Popular Mesothelioma Drug More Effective
ByAlex Strauss March 13, 2015March 26, 2019

There is new evidence that an advanced method of delivering medicine directly into diseased cells could help make the world’s only FDA-approved mesothelioma drug more effective. Pemetrexed (Alimta) was approved for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma in 2004 and remains the only drug specifically for the treatment of this intractable cancer. Because of its toxicity, pemetrexed can’t be given in very high doses and usually has to be combined with another drug, such as cisplatin, when it is given to mesothelioma patients. Unfortunately, even this “gold standard” drug treatment is only effective about 40 percent of the time. But a new drug delivery system may boost the effectiveness of pemetrexed and improve outcomes for pleural mesothelioma patients. Researchers in Egypt and…

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Biopsy | Diagnosis | Europe | International | New Techniques | Surgery | Treatments | Updates

Could Deliberate Lung Collapse Make Mesothelioma Procedure Safer?
ByAlex Strauss March 10, 2015March 21, 2019

A group of researchers in the Oxford University Centre for Respiratory Medicine have evidence that, in certain cases,deliberately collapsing a lung could improve treatment for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. In a recently published study in the journal Thorax, the group reported data that deliberately deflating a lung, called pneumothorax induction, can sometimes make it easier and safer to perform a surgical procedure called thoracoscopy. Local anesthetic thoracoscopy (LAT) is a minimally invasive method for examining or performing biopsies or surgeries in the pleural cavity around the lungs where mesothelioma starts. It utilizes an instrument called a thorascope with a light source and a lens. Using a thorascope, surgeons can perform procedures on mesothelioma patients without having to use general anesthetic…

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Biological Therapy | Multi-Modality Therapy | New Drugs | New Studies | Research | Treatments | Updates

Orphan Drug Approval Could Mean New Mesothelioma Treatment Option
ByAlex Strauss March 8, 2015March 26, 2019

A drug designed to fight cancer by destroying the stem cells that give rise to new cancer cells has been granted orphan drug status for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The designation paves the way for mesothelioma patients, who often have few treatment options, to get access to VS-5584 earlier than it would otherwise be available. VS-5584 is a powerful inhibitor of a signaling pathway that regulates cancer progression and the survival of cancer stem cells. According to Verastem, the Boston-based maker of VS-5584, the drug has already received a similar designation for mesothelioma in Europe. “This is an important regulatory milestone for Verastem and… will facilitate our global development of VS-5584 to help improve the available treatment options for patients suffering…

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Chemotherapy | Europe | International | Multi-Modality Therapy | Radiation Therapy | Surgery | Treatments | Updates

Mesothelioma Patients Live Longer with Multimodal Treatment
ByAlex Strauss March 5, 2015March 25, 2019

Another new study has confirmed that a multimodal approach – in which multiple treatments are used together – is the most reliable way to improve survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Doctors in England and Italy have just published their findings on a mesothelioma treatment combination that includes surgery, pleural lavage, radiotherapy and systemic chemotherapy. The study included 102 mesothelioma patients treated between 2004 and 2013 at one of two London hospitals or at the University of Milan. About three quarters of the patients in the study had the epithelioid variety of mesothelioma, which is the most common form. Eighty percent were male. All of the patients underwent the lung-sparing mesothelioma surgery called pleurectomy/decortication (PD) during which the diseased…

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Europe | International | Prognosis | Symptoms | Treatments | Updates

Response to Talc Treatment May Predict Mesothelioma Prognosis
ByAlex Strauss February 28, 2015March 26, 2019

How well a mesothelioma patient’s lungs respond to a procedure designed to eliminate excess lung fluid may be a better predictor of survival than the stage or subtype of their cancer. A group of pathologists and thoracic surgeons in Italy came to that conclusion after evaluating the cases of 172 mesothelioma patients who underwent a procedure called talc pleurodesis or talc poudrage. Talc pleurodesis is designed to prevent a buildup of lung fluid that is common in mesothelioma patients and causes unpleasant symptoms like shortness of breath. After the lung fluid (also called pleural effusion) is drained, the space between the two pleural layers is filled with talc. The talc acts as a chemical irritant causing inflammation and fibrosis which…

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Asbestos | Occupations | Prevention | Statistics | Updates

Mesothelioma Risk High For Sheet Metal Workers
ByAlex Strauss February 27, 2015March 25, 2019

A 24-year study of more than 17,000 sheet metal workers shows that even indirect exposure to asbestos can be deadly. The study found that these workers are much more likely to die of mesothelioma or asbestosis than the general public – even though their industry does not use asbestos. Mesothelioma is an extremely rare cancer in the U.S., with about 2,500 new cases each year. But unlike other cancers, the cause of mesothelioma is well-known. People who have worked or even lived around asbestos are at much higher risk for mesothelioma. While sheet metal work itself doesn’t directly involve the use of asbestos, the profession is risky because workers typically spend their professional lives in the vicinity of asbestos-containing construction…

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Asbestos | Europe | International | Occupations | Updates

Mesothelioma Risk from Recycled Textiles
ByAlex Strauss February 24, 2015March 25, 2019

Sorting rags for Italy’s textile industry may not sound like a dangerous occupation. But a new study in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene finds that rag sorters in the industrial province of Prato have a significantly elevated risk of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a fast-growing and incurable cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Most people who contract mesothelioma have either worked in asbestos mines or with asbestos-containing products in the construction or shipbuilding trades. However, a hundred and seventy-two cases of mesothelioma were recorded among textile workers in Tuscany between 1988 and 2012. Almost half of them (46.5%) were residents of Prato and half of those Prato workers were rag sorters. In fact, the incidence of mesothelioma among rag sorters in…

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