Author: Alex Strauss

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    Studies Highlight Limited Success of Mesothelioma Anti-Angiogenesis Drugs

    ByAlex Strauss

    Two recent mesothelioma studies suggest that anti-angiogenesis drugs may not be as successful as previously hoped in treating mesothelioma. An anti-angiogenesis drug is a substance that inhibits the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). The theory was first developed by Dr. Judah Folkman who pioneered research on tumor angiogenesis, the process by which a tumor attracts blood vessels to nourish itself and sustain growth. According to his theory, by introducing drugs that stop the formation of new blood vessels (anti-angiogenesis) tumors would not get the nourishment they need and would be unable to continue growing. This theory has attracted a lot of attention and investment in mesothelioma research. One angiogenesis promoter that is found expressed in mesothelioma cells is called…

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    Mesothelioma Deaths Still a Mystery among Minnesota Miners

    ByAlex Strauss

    More bad news for taconite workers along Minnesota’s Canadian border:  The number of taconite workers who have died of mesothelioma has risen from 63 to 82 since last year.  The increase is further evidence that, for reasons which are still unclear, these miners may be at higher risk for mesothelioma than the general population. The figures are the latest from an ongoing study on the health effects of the mineral taconite, a form of iron-ore which has been mined in the region since the 1950’s.  The $4.9 million dollar Taconite Workers Health Study began in 2008 after a number of taconite workers contracted lung cancer and mesothelioma, the asbestos caused cancer. Three years into the five-year study, the link between taconite mining…

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    Mesothelioma Tests Focus on Prediction and Prevention

    ByAlex Strauss

    A California mesothelioma doctor believes it may eventually be possible to predict who is likely to get malignant mesothelioma and even keep it from developing. Only about 15 percent of people exposed to asbestos will go on to develop mesothelioma or lung cancer, but right now they have no way of knowing who they are.  Now scientists at UCLA and other mesothelioma treatment centers around the country, in conjunction with surgical oncologist Dr. Robert Cameron and the Pacific, Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (PHLBI), are gearing up to develop tests that could identify those at highest risk for asbestos-related malignancies.  The teams will also test methods of preventing mesothelioma or for finding it in its earliest stage. Dr. Cameron and the research…

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    Cell Nucleus a “Strong Predictor” of Mesothelioma Survival

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new study from one of the country’s leading cancer centers suggests that the nuclei of mesothelioma cells may hold vital clues for predicting patient survival. Mesothelioma is an aggressive type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.  Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common subtype.  Doctors often use the cancer’s stage – a measure of cancer extent and severity – to predict how well patients will respond to treatment.  But now a group of scientific researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the U.S. and Kagawa University in Japan believe they have found an even more effective prognostic indicator – inside the nucleus of mesothelioma cells. To conduct their experiment, the researchers examined the slides of 232 patients who had been…

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    New Mouse Model for Mesothelioma Drug Testing

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma is among the most challenging cancers to treat. Increasingly, doctors are taking a multi-modal approach to treatment including surgery and some combination of adjuvant therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation or other, newer modalities. But it has always been difficult to test the effectiveness of these mesothelioma therapies in the lab since they depend on the test subject having had surgery first. Now, a group of researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have come up with a more reliable way to conduct these tests. By grafting human malignant mesothelioma cells into the peritoneal cavities of laboratory mice, the researchers were able to simulate mesothelioma. The mesothelioma cells were allowed to take hold for 14 days, after which time…

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    Korea: Mesothelioma to Rise for Another 30 Years

    ByAlex Strauss

    While mesothelioma rates are expected to start declining in the U.S. within the next decade, Korea’s war on against this aggressive cancer may be just getting started. According to English language newspaper The Korea Herald, Korea’s Ministry of Environment is predicting that the number of mesothelioma cases will continue to rise in that country until the year 2045. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. The Ministry of Environment report shows that the number of mesothelioma patients registered at Korean medical facilities jumped from 61 in 1996 to 152 in 2007. The number of deaths from asbestos exposure also rose from 24 in 2001 to 57 in 2006. Although Korea recently enacted a law regulating asbestos use which will take…

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    Clinical Trials Offer Options for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma is a devastating malignancy in the lining of the lungs and other internal organs. It affects about 2,500 Americans annually, most of them industrial workers who came in contact with the toxic mineral asbestos 20 to 50 years ago. Because the prognosis is generally poor for mesothelioma there are a number of clinical trials underway to find more effective treatments. Clinical trials are organized formal studies of a new drug or other treatment protocol in human patients. They can be an important source of hope and help for patients, especially those who may have few proven treatment options. But, in order for clinical trials to be effective, a certain number of mesothelioma patients must be willing to take the…

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    Possible Second-Line Mesothelioma Treatment Fails

    ByAlex Strauss

    There has been some disappointing news for mesothelioma patients who fail to respond to first-line chemotherapy treatment. A major Phase III clinical study of a potentially promising second-line drug treatment showed no effect on survival. Mesothelioma researchers had high hopes for vorinostat (brand name Zolinza), a histone deacetylase inhibitor that alters gene expression and protein activity inside cells. Earlier studies found that a small number of mesothelioma patients treated with the drug had stable disease that lasted for 13 months. But in the current study – one of the largest mesothelioma trials of its kind – vorinostat offered no statistically significant survival advantage. The study involved 660 mesothelioma patients from 92 sites. The median age was 65. Patients were given…

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    Pricey Mesothelioma Drug May be Best Second-Line Treatment

    ByAlex Strauss

    The chemotherapy combination of pemetrexed (brand name Alimta) and cisplatin is typically the first-line drug treatment for patients with advanced malignant mesothelioma. But a new study on the combination published recently in the journal Lung Cancer suggests that a less expensive alternative may be just as effective. Researchers from Oxford, England compared pemetrexed plus cisplatin to the newer combination of raltitrexed (brand name Tomudex) plus cisplatin and found that the two combinations produced nearly identical results in terms of survival in mesothelioma patients. The researchers obtained baseline progression and survival rates using data from an earlier multi-national trial looking at the effectiveness of cisplatin with or without raltitrexed for mesothelioma. They then compared these with the results of various randomized…

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    Libby Residents Settle Mesothelioma and Asbestos Lawsuits

    ByAlex Strauss

    Residents of Libby, Montana who have contracted mesothelioma and other disease from exposure to asbestos will share a $43 million dollar settlement. The settlement is a response to 200 lawsuits filed over the contaminated W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine outside of Libby.  A Montana district court ruled that the state failed to “warn and protect” Libby residents about the dangers of asbestos, which include mesothelioma.  According to the Los Angeles Times, payouts for the 1,300 plaintiffs will range from $500 to more than $50,000. The state did not admit liability as part of the settlement and those who signed it agreed to release the state from future claims. Although the Libby mine has been closed since 1990 and the Environmental Protection…