Author: Alex Strauss

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    Mesothelioma Surgery Debate: Experience is the Answer

    ByAlex Strauss

    A pair of researchers in the UK say a cancer center’s level of experience in dealing with mesothelioma may be the most important factor in achieving good surgical outcomes – not which surgery is chosen. Their new meta-analysis is the latest in a long line of studies attempting to discern which type of mesothelioma surgery is best for patients in terms of survival and complications. The global medical community remains sharply divided over the risks and benefits of lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication vs. lung-removing extrapleural pneumonectomy. In the newest study, authors Sotiris and Sayonara Papaspyros analyzed the results of 16 separate studies comparing P/D to EPP in the treatment of mesothelioma. They found a median survival range from 8.1 to 32 months…

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    Standard Chemotherapy Mix Still Best for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Researchers at Japan’s Shizuoka Cancer Center and Juntendo University say the popular chemotherapy combination of cisplatin and Alimta (pemetrexed) should remain the gold standard for malignant pleural mesothelioma. In a study published in Respiratory Investigations, the team, led by Takehito Shukuya, concluded that Alimta and the platinum-based drug cisplatin produced better long term results in mesothelioma patients than the combination of cisplatin and Gemzar (gemcitabine). Gemzar is a nucleoside analog that some studies have found to be a promising alternative to the more conventional Alimta-based mesothelioma treatment. In a retrospective comparison study of the two treatment combinations, researchers examined the cases of 30 consecutive malignant pleural mesothelioma patients from July 2002 to December 2011. “We reviewed the medical charts of…

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    Most Canadian Mesothelioma Cases Go Unreported

    ByAlex Strauss

    Less than half of asbestos workers diagnosed with mesothelioma file claims for workers’ compensation, even though most of those who do file receive compensation, according to a Canadian study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer that has been linked to asbestos exposure. Most of that exposure has occurred in jobs where people work with the fibrous mineral. Up to 40 years can elapse between the time when a worker is exposed to asbestos and when he or she is diagnosed with mesothelioma. Similar to the United States, workers’ compensation in Canada covers medical costs for workers who are injured on the job. This coverage can be an invaluable help to both…

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    New Protein ‘Mimic’ Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Lab Tests

    ByAlex Strauss

    Scientists testing a novel compound on mesothelioma cells in the lab say it may have the power to not only trigger cellular death, but also to stop mesothelioma from growing and spreading. CFMs (CARP-1 Functional Mimetics) are a class of compounds that ‘mimic’ the action of a protein called Cell Cycle Regulatory Protein (CARP) 1. As the name implies, CARP-1 plays a key role in regulating the life cycle of cells, including telling cells when it is time to enter apoptosis or programmed cell death. Cancers like mesothelioma can result when cells fail to enter apoptosis on schedule, while new cells are being created at a faster rate. When mesothelioma cells were exposed to CFMs in the lab, not only…

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    Mesothelioma Alert: Asbestos Imports Rising

    ByAlex Strauss

    The news that imports of the toxic mineral asbestos are on the rise in the U.S. is prompting outrage from a mesothelioma patient advocacy group. According to new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) numbers, the amount of asbestos being imported into the U.S. from other counties increased in the past year from 1,040 metric tons to 1,100 metric tons.  Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that is highly carcinogenic and has used in thousands of products.  Because it has not been mined in the U.S. since 2002, the vast majority (92%) of the asbestos used in the U.S. is imported from Canada. The rest comes from Zimbabwe and elsewhere. Asbestos is known to cause malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and a host of other…

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    Thoracoscopy: An Alternative to Surgery for Mesothelioma Diagnosis?

    ByAlex Strauss

    Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say an outpatient medical procedure called thoracoscopy is safer and simpler than inpatient surgery for diagnosing a common mesothelioma symptom. Pleural effusion, or buildup of fluid around the lungs, can be caused by several different conditions and cancers, including malignant pleural mesothelioma. When doctors are unable to make a definitive diagnosis of mesothelioma or to determine its extent from fluid samples and imaging studies alone, an open surgery of the chest (thoracic surgery) may be recommended. But a team of Mayo Clinic doctors writing in the medical journal Chest say minimally invasive outpatient medical thoracoscopy offers a feasible alternative to surgery for exploring the chest cavity in people with suspected mesothelioma. The study focused on…

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    Mesothelioma Survival Case Encouraging for Current Patients

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new case report out of Belgium has some encouraging news for mesothelioma patients. It recounts the case of a patient who not only survived multi-modality treatment for mesothelioma, but whose cancer disappeared completely. The 50-year-old patient was suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma, a virulent lung-related cancer usually caused by inhalation of asbestos dust. The patient had the epithelial variety of the disease and a fairly contained tumor on the surface of the lung lining. Staging showed that the mesothelioma cells had not yet spread to the lymph nodes, which can be a precursor to metastasis (spread) to other parts of the body. Doctors at the University Hospital in Leuven, Belgium treated the patient with a tri-modality approach, including chemotherapy,…

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    Inflammatory Markers May Predict Mesothelioma Prognosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    Researchers say they have identified several signs of inflammation in patients with malignant mesothelioma that might be used to predict how patients will respond to treatment. Doctors from the Department of Chest Diseases at Dicle University collected data on 155 patients at the time of their mesothelioma diagnosis and compared it to their survival. The information collected included the extent of each patient’s exposure to asbestos, the histological subtype of their mesothelioma, and other laboratory measures. The mean survival time for all mesothelioma patients in the study was 13.9 months. When the researchers considered one potential prognostic factor at a time, they found that being 60 years old or over and having a neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of 3 or more…

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    Asbestos Causes Autoimmune Responses Connected to Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma and lung cancer are not the only risks associated with exposure to toxic minerals like asbestos. A study out of Idaho State University finds that asbestos also has a negative effect on the immune system. Once heavily used in construction and manufacturing, asbestos has been known for decades as the cause of mesothelioma, a rare but serious cancer. In recent years, another mineral called erionite has been suspected of causing mesothelioma. In the US, erionite has been found in gravel mined and used on roads, particularly in the state of North Dakota. Although the risks of mesothelioma from erionite and asbestos are understood, less is known about the immune system’s response to these minerals. In a report in Toxicology…

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    Long Term Survival Possible with CRS/HIPEC for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    There’s hopeful news for peritoneal mesothelioma patients facing the prospect of surgery. A new study on the benefits of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) finds that both the process and outcomes have improved over time. Cytoreductive surgery refers to any surgery aimed at removing as much cancerous tissue as possible. With peritoneal cancers such as mesothelioma, the surgeons may follow the procedure with a wash of heated chemotherapy drugs into the open body cavity. The goal of HIPEC is to destroy any remaining mesothelioma cells and to help keep new mesothelioma cells from growing. A study of 1,000 cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC patients, 72 of whom had mesothelioma, found that complications have decreased and survival has increased for all of…