Author: Alex Strauss

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    Location Can Affect Mesothelioma Risk

    ByAlex Strauss

    People who live close to ancient rock formations called ophiolites are at higher risk of mesotheliomaand other asbestos-related diseases. That is the conclusion reached by a team of researchers in the thoracic surgery department of a Turkish hospital. In a report published in the medical journal Respiratory Medicine, the team explained the findings of a study of 2,970 volunteers living near Turkish ophiolite formations. Ophiolites get their name from the words “snake stone” in Greek. They appear to be pieces of ancient ocean floor that have been pushed to the surface over time and are rich in asbestos and other types of rock and minerals. Approximately 85% of the world’s asbestos, a mineral closely-linked to mesothelioma and a range of other…

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    Mesothelioma Rates Steady Despite Declining Asbestos Use

    ByAlex Strauss

    Although asbestos use in the United States has been in decline for more than 30 years, the threat of mesothelioma is still very real. A new CDC analysis of data from the National Program for Cancer Registries and the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program shows that mesothelioma rates in the U.S. remained steady from 2003 to 2008. The National Program for Cancer Registries is a national database of all cancer cases in the U.S. It allows the CDC to observe and track trends and find patterns in cancer occurrence. The newly-released CDC mesothelioma analysis was based on the theory that “the decline in asbestos use in the United States may impact mesothelioma incidence.”  But according to a summary of the…

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    Can Robotics Make Mesothelioma Surgery Safer?

    ByAlex Strauss

    A Chandler, Arizona man is recovering after becoming the second person in the world to undergo robotic surgery for mesothelioma. Carlos Tarazon, a 67-year-old former construction worker, was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma after spending more than 20 years in the construction industry. He had exhausted his treatment options when he was referred to University of Arizona Medical Center thoracic surgeon Farid Gharagozloo, MD, who elected to perform robotic-assisted extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Gharagozloo had performed the world’s first robotic EPP just days before. Pleural mesothelioma invades organ membranes, the chest well, and, often, the lungs. EPP involves removing not only the diseased lung lining, but also the lung itself, portions of the chest wall, the membrane around the heart, and all…

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    UN Group to Debate Asbestos/Mesothelioma Link

    ByAlex Strauss

    The link between chrysotile asbestos and illnesses such as mesothelioma will be high on the agenda when the sixth UN Rotterdam Convention meets in Geneva, Switzerland in late April. The group, made up of representatives from around the world, will be considering whether or not chrysotile or white asbestos will finally be added to the list of Controlled Hazardous Substances. The Rotterdam Convention was assembled in 2002 with the goal of protecting people and the environment from toxic chemicals like asbestos. However, in order to include chrysotile asbestos on the list, the vote of all represented countries must be unanimous. In the past, countries that still export, import or use asbestos, including Canada, Brazil, Russia and India, have worked to keep chrysotile…

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    Nanotechnology for Treatment of Mesothelioma Fluid

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new article on diagnostic advances predicts some good news for mesothelioma patients and their doctors. Mesothelioma is an aggressive malignancy that most often occurs in the membrane around the lungs (pleura) but can also arise in the abdominal wall or around the heart. It is known to be caused by exposure to asbestos, but its long latency period and vague early symptoms can make it difficult to diagnose until in its later stages. At that point, mesothelioma is also less survivable. A pair of Spanish doctors, however, predicts that nanotechnology holds some good news for both diagnosing and treating the symptoms of mesothelioma. Nanotechnology in medicine involves the use of extremely tiny particles to deliver therapeutics and glean information at the…

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    Mesothelioma Study: Taconite Link Appears Weak

    ByAlex Strauss

    The long-awaited results of the Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study are in but many questions remain about the link between the iron-based mineral taconite and malignant mesothelioma. The five-year study was commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Health and carried out by researchers at the University of Minnesota at a cost of $4.9 million. The goal of the study was to determine why 82 taconite workers have died of mesothelioma, a rare lung-related cancer normally associated with asbestos exposure, since 2010. Preliminary findings of the study, which focused on the 50,000 current and former taconite workers born since 1920, have been released every couple of years since the study began. But last week was the first time that iron workers and…

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    Skin Growths May Point to Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Could benign skin tumors be a warning sign for mesothelioma? One of the world’s leading authorities on mesothelioma says the same genetic mutation that predispose certain people to skin cancer may also put them at higher risk of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but serious cancer of the membranous tissue that surrounds and encases the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. Its primary cause is exposure to airborne asbestos. However, one of the great mysteries of this highly aggressive cancer is why it strikes some asbestos-exposed individuals and not others? Dr. Michele Carbone and colleagues at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, home to one of the world’s leading mesothelioma research programs, have been working on the problem for years….

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    Lawsuits Focus on Mesothelioma Construction Risks

    ByAlex Strauss

    Two recent news stories highlight the fact that construction workers are often at higher risk for mesothelioma. The risk comes from exposure to asbestos, a toxic mineral once widely used as an insulator and building product additive. After asbestos dust was linked to malignant mesothelioma in the 1960s, workplaces began to implement protective measures. However, the long delay from time of asbestos exposure to development of mesothelioma means the measures came too late for some workers. A group of sick electricians and carpenters in New York is a case in point.   More than a hundred independent contractors are alleging that long-term asbestos exposure at the county-owned Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, caused them to develop mesothelioma and other asbestos illnesses….

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    Australia Braces for “Rash” of Mesothelioma Cases

    ByAlex Strauss

    American environmental officials charged with protecting the public against mesothelioma could take a lesson from Australia. The country continues to struggle with environmental and public health problems as a result of its long history of asbestos use. The Courier Mail newspaper’s website says the State Parliament in Queensland is bracing for a rash of mesothelioma cases among people who choose to renovate their own older homes. The new government report warns that any building built before 1990 is likely to contain asbestos, but so far there is no formal procedure for helping homeowners understand and safely address the threat. According to the report, one homeowner who called her council with concerns about asbestos on a neighbor’s property finally gave up and moved…

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    Unusual Chemo Side Effects in One Mesothelioma Patient

    ByAlex Strauss

    Swiss researches are reporting unusual side effects in one patient arising from mesothelioma treatment with the popular chemotherapy drug pemetrexed. One of the side effects is potentially life-threatening. Approved by the FDA in 2004 and sold under the brand name Alimta, pemetrexed was the first drug developed specifically for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Four years later, it was also approved for the treatment of lung cancer. Pemetrexed is a folate antimetabolite that inhibits certain key enzymes and prevents the formation of DNA and RNA critical for mesothelioma cells to function and replicate. It is most often combined with a platinum-based drug like cisplatin or carboplatin in the treatment of mesothelioma. In a report in the journal Lung Cancer, doctors from…