Author: Alex Strauss

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    Blood Protein Predicts Treatment Response in Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A blood protein that is overexpressed in mesothelioma tumor cells may be one of the best ways to predict how well a patient will respond to treatment. is a serious malignancy of the mesothelium, or tissue that surrounds and encases the lungs, abdomen or heart.  It is almost always caused by exposure to the mineral asbestos.  A protein called mesothelin, which is present in all mesothelial cells, is produced in greater amounts by cancerous mesothelial cells.  Scientists have long believed that this protein may be an important way to gain information about a patient’s mesothelioma cancer. A study recently published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research appears to confirm that idea.  A group of Australian researchers enrolled 97 mesothelioma patients…

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    Auto Mechanics Unaware of Mesothelioma Risk

    ByAlex Strauss

    Thousands of the nation’s auto mechanics may be unaware that they could be at a higher than normal risk for mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure. Asbestos has been used in car manufacturing for many years because of its high heat resistance and strength.  Most commonly found in brake drums and clutches, asbestos has also been used to line the underside of car hoods and in a variety of other engine parts and gaskets. Inhalation of asbestos fibers has been shown to cause a range of health problems of which pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the lungs, and peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the abdomen, are the most serious. As part of a frequently-cited 4-month study conducted by…

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    Immune System May Help Fight Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Proteins and toxins produced by the body’s own immune system could prove to be powerful weapons in the fight against malignant mesothelioma. Manipulating the immune system to fight cancer is known as immunotherapy. One type of immunotherapy is utilizing natural immunotoxins, or cell killers, produced by the white blood cells to attack tumors. Preliminary data shows that a protein produced by these cells called interleukin-4 or IL-4, may have potent cancer-fighting properties. Researchers with the Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute in California are planning studies to test the toxin’s value as a way to combat mesothelioma. Their first challenge will be to produce enough IL-4 to conduct tests. When enough of the immunotoxin can be synthesized according to FDA…

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    Second-Line Chemotherapy May Benefit Mesothelioma Patients

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma patients whose cancer shows at least a partial response to pemetrexed-based chemotherapy may benefit from the same drug again if their cancer relapses, according to a new study. Caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer of the mesothelial tissue that encases internal organs. Pemetrexed-based chemotherapy has been shown to be effective for some mesothelioma patients. To date, no drugs have been approved for second-line treatment of mesothelioma, when the diseases continues to progress after first line chemotherapy. Now, a study conducted by a group of Italian researchers and published in the medical journal Lung Cancer tested the effectiveness of pemetrexed-based chemotherapy as a second-line treatment for mesothelioma patients. The researchers observed the responses of 31 patients…

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    Worldwide Mesothelioma Rate Higher Than Expected

    ByAlex Strauss

    The global rate of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma is probably much higher than was previously thought. A new study published in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) environmental health sciences journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, estimates that for every four or five cases of mesothelioma worldwide, there is at least one more case that goes unreported. Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer that usually develops 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos, a mineral used for many years in a wide variety of products and applications.  The popularity of asbestos declined after it was associated with mesothelioma and other serious health problems in the 1980’s, but there is still no asbestos ban in the USA.  In addition, because it…

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    Promising Technology for Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment Planning

    ByAlex Strauss

    Patients diagnosed with or suspected of having malignant pleural mesothelioma would do well to seek treatment in a center with access to a hybrid nuclear imaging modality called PET/CT. That’s the conclusion of a group of medical researchers in India who studied the value of this new integrated imaging technique for mesothelioma and recently published their findings in the journal Molecular Imaging and Biology. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a nuclear imaging technique which tracks a positron-emitting ‘tracer’ in the body in order to produce three dimensional images of functional processes.  The most common biologically active molecule used for this scan is Fludeoxyglucose (FDG), which is an analogue of glucose.  Images are produced as energy is given off during metabolism of the…

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    Attic-Stored Christmas Décor Could Pose Risk of Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Christmas decorations stored in the attic could carry a hidden health risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos caused diseases for millions of American homes. An estimated 35 million older homes are insulated with a vermiculite insulation sold under the brand name Zonolite. But the vermiculite mined by the W.R. Grace Company to produce Zonolite has been found to also contain fibers of asbestos, a naturally-occurring mineral that has been linked to such deadly diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The EPA says Zonolite insulation is unlikely to pose a health risk when left undisturbed.  But inhaling the insulation dust accidently transported from the attic on Christmas decorations, wreaths, artificial trees or lights could put residents at serious risk including causing or…

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    Mesothelioma Treatment Becoming More Individualized

    ByAlex Strauss

    A respected team of mesothelioma experts predicts that treatment for this aggressive cancer will become increasingly personalized in the next five to ten years. A malignancy in the lining around the lungs and other organs, mesothelioma is caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. Although its occurrence in the U.S. is believed to have leveled out at about 3,000 cases per year, the number of cases around the world is continuing to increase. Because the disease is so difficult to treat, many patients succumb within a year of diagnosis, even with the best therapies now available. For this reason, researches continue to look for ways to predict which treatments are most likely to work for which patients. In a recent article…

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    Legal Settlements Highlight Mesothelioma Risk

    ByAlex Strauss

    Recent large legal settlements in the Northeast highlight the continuing legacy of mesothelioma and asbestos exposure for U.S. industrial workers. Courts in New York and New Jersey have awarded more than $8 million dollars in recent weeks to workers who contracted mesothelioma from working around asbestos. A naturally occurring mineral once mined by the ton, asbestos can become deadly when inhaled or ingested.  Its tiny rock-like fibers lodge in the lungs or other organs, triggering inflammation that can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma over time.  Mesothelioma can take 20 to 50 years to develop and is very difficult to cure. Asbestos was used in many products including the roofs and wallboard of houses, oven mitts used in kitchens, the boiler…

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    Handheld PET Scanners May Improve Mesothelioma Surgery

    ByAlex Strauss

    Surgeons from one of the country’s most respected cancer centers say hand-held PET scanners could be a valuable tool for combating deadly mesothelioma cancer. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York used the new handheld PET technology to pinpoint and remove 17 suspicious lesions in mice during surgery. The mice had been inoculated with mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the tissue that surrounds internal organs. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. Positron Emission Tomography or PET scanning is a nuclear medicine test that is often used, along with MRI and CT scanning, to diagnose, stage and monitor mesothelioma and other cancers. PET scanning can produce detailed 3-dimensional functional images of internal tissues. The machine detects gamma rays…