Author: Alex Strauss

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    Can Mesothelioma Be Genetic?

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new study out of Italy suggests that a person is more likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma if a sibling has the disease. That is especially true if both siblings were also exposed to asbestos. Scientists from Sapienza University and the Lazio Regional Health Service in Rome, as well as industrial disease experts from Viterbo, Italy searched a database including 10 percent of the Italian population to find familial clusters of mesothelioma cases. Among the 997 cases of mesothelioma recorded between 1980 and 2012, the team found 34 familial cases and 13 clusters. Together, these clusters accounted for 3.4% of all mesotheliomas in the database. “The most common clusters were those with affected siblings and unaffected parents,” reports Associate…

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    Study Finds Higher Risk with Mesothelioma EPP Surgery

    ByAlex Strauss

    Yet another team of researchers is weighing in on the ongoing debate over the different kinds of surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma and the news is not good for patients considering the most invasive approach. The newest study involved thoracic surgeons from Stanford University and UCLA, Cardiothoracic surgeons from the University of Chicago and the University of Washington, and Biostatisticians from Duke University. Together, the researchers analyzed the outcomes of 225 mesothelioma patients from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons-General Thoracic Database who underwent either pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) or the more radical extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Pneumonectomy literally means removal of the lung. As the most invasive pleural mesothelioma surgical approach, EPP involves removing the entire pleural lining where mesothelioma starts, as well…

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    Biomarker May Predict Chemotherapy Response in Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Cancer researchers in Japan say they may have found a way to help predict which mesothelioma patients are most likely to respond well to treatment with Alimta. Alimta (pemetrexed) was FDA approved in 2004 for the treatment of mesothelioma, a virulent form of lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Alimta is often administered along with the platinum-based drug cisplatin, although this first-line mesothelioma treatment combination has been shown to have only limited success. Part of the problem is that it is difficult to predict which mesothelioma patients will respond to which types of therapies. Mesothelioma treatment, therefore, often involves a process of trial and error to find the therapy that works best. Unfortunately, this approach can cost patients valuable time…

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    Alcoholism Drug Suppresses Mesothelioma Tumors in Mice

    ByAlex Strauss

    A drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of alcoholism appears to have the potential to fight malignant pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive form of lung cancer that is often unresponsive to conventional therapies. Disulfiram (sold under the brand name Antabuse) blocks the processing of alcohol in the body by inhibiting acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. Some studies have suggested that the drug’s ability to bind to copper, a mineral often elevated in the blood serum of cancer patients, may also give it anti-tumor properties and the ability to make cancer cells more susceptible to chemotherapy. In the new mesothelioma study, a team led by cancer researchers at Detroit’s Wayne State University School of Medicine administered copper complexed disulfiram (DSF-Cu) to mice with…

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    Low-Dose Gemzar: Cost Effective Alternative for Mesothelioma?

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new study of an alternative form of chemotherapy for mesothelioma finds that it may be a safe, effective, and less expensive treatment option, especially for low-income patients. Gemzar (gemcitabine) is a nucleoside analog that has been found to arrest tumor growth and trigger apoptosis (cell death)in several types of cancer, including breast, bladder, pancreatic and non-small cell lung cancer. Now, researchers working on a phase II trial of Gemzar for advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma say a continuous low-level infusion of the drug may be a viable treatment option. Dr. Oscar Arrieta and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute of Mexico evaluated the outcomes of 39 patients with advanced mesothelioma treated with low-dose infusions of Gemzar and cisplatin instead of…

  • Catheter Metastasis Manageable for Mesothelioma Patients

    ByAlex Strauss

    The largest study yet of mesothelioma patients with metastatic disease along the path of their lung catheters has some reassuring news for patients. Australian researchers find that the problem is usually treatable. Many later-stage mesothelioma patients have indwelling pleural catheters put in place to help them deal with pleural effusions, a buildup of fluid that is a common symptom of the cancer. Untreated pleural effusions in mesothelioma can cause severe chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing and other life-limiting problems. For mesothelioma patients who are not candidates for pleurodesis, studies have shown that the installation of a catheter to drain off the lung fluid can create other problems.The most serious problem associated with indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) is the risk…

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    Advanced Radiotherapy Stops Mesothelioma Tumor Growth

    ByAlex Strauss

    Advanced new radiotherapy techniques may be more effective – and less toxic – for hard-to-treat mesothelioma patients. Caused by exposure to asbestos, malignant pleural mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer that spreads across the membrane that encases the lungs. Radiotherapy is often used as part of a multi-modality approach to keep mesothelioma from spreading. But because of the size and irregular shape of mesothelioma tumors, as well as their proximity to the lungs and heart, there is a high risk of damaging vital organs with conventional external beam radiotherapy. Now, a study out of Australia demonstrates that new, more precise methods of radiotherapy delivery may be the best hope of controlling the growth of mesothelioma tumors. A team of radiologists at the University…

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    Mesothelioma Blood Test May Save Lives through Earlier Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is new evidence that a blood test for a biomarker called N-ERC/mesothelin could help identify mesothelioma earlier and improve outcomes in people at risk for the disease. Cancer researchers with Juntendo University in Tokyo released a study in 2008 suggesting that N-ERC/mesothelin, a soluble protein released by certain kinds of cancer cells, was “a very promising tumor marker for mesothelioma, especially epithelioid mesothelioma”. In their newest study, the same group attempted to test the value of the biomarker as a warning tool for closer monitoring in populations at high mesothelioma risk. The new study included construction workers who were part of a large-scale, 5-year screening of people known to be exposed to asbestos, the primary cause of mesothelioma. The…

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    Breast Cancer Drug Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumors in Mice

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is new evidence that a drug used to fight breast cancer may offer a new way to treat the intractable lung-related cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma. Scientists at Rome’s Regina Elena National Cancer Institute have recently published some encouraging findings on the drug Aromasin (exemestane) in the journal Molecular Cancer. Aromasin is designed to block the enzyme aromatase, which is critical for the synthesis of estrogen. For cancers that are sensitive to estrogen, such a breast cancer, reducing the amount of the hormone in the body by inhibiting aromatase has been shown to curb cancer growth. Based on recent evidence that aromatase may also play a role in malignant mesothelioma, the Italian scientists tested the aromatase inhibitor Aromasin on mesothelioma…

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    Spinal Procedure for Mesothelioma Pain Relief

    ByAlex Strauss

    Pleural mesothelioma patients with severe pain may benefit from a surgical procedure to disable certain pain-conductors in the spinal cord. The procedure, called cordotomy, is the subject of a newly-published report in BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care. Cordotomy is typically performed on patients in severe pain due to cancer or other incurable diseases. It is usually done with a needle under fluoroscopic guidance. Most mesothelioma patients who undergo cordotomies have only local anesthesia. Although the procedure is sometimes offered for patients with advanced mesothelioma, evidence of its effectiveness is still limited. To get a better sense of the value of cordotomy in mesothelioma, British Researchers from the North Wales Centre for Primary Care Research at Bangor University conducted a systematic…