Author: Alex Strauss

New Studies | Prognosis | Research | Statistics | Surgery | Treatments

Mesothelioma Outcomes Better at High Volume Facilities
ByAlex Strauss May 12, 2018May 12, 2018

A new study provides more evidence that malignant pleural mesothelioma patients considering surgery would do well to seek out a facility that does a lot of them. Researchers found that mesothelioma patients tend to have fewer complications and shorter hospital stays when they are treated at high volume facilities. The new study is based on data from the National Cancer Database and is published in the latest issue of the journal Lung Cancer. It defines a “high volume facility” as a medical facility that falls into the 90th percentile in terms of the number of pleural mesothelioma surgeries done there. All other facilities were classified as lower volume facilities (LVFs). HVFs vs LVFs for Mesothelioma Treatment Of the 1307 mesothelioma…

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Alternatives | Europe | International | Radiation Therapy | Treatments

Experimental Mesothelioma Therapy Shrinks Mouse Tumors by 80 Percent
ByAlex Strauss May 10, 2018

An innovative approach to mesothelioma treatment being developed in Italy has produced results researchers call “very promising”. The treatment reduced the size of mesothelioma tumors in mice by 80 to 85 percent in just over a month. Noninvasive image-guided Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) utilizes the unique properties of boron to destroy mesothelioma cells from the inside out. It has been used as an alternative to conventional radiation therapy for the treatment of malignant brain tumors and recurrent head and neck cancers. The new Italian study is the latest to evaluate this approach for patients with malignant mesothelioma, a hard-to-treat membrane cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for Mesothelioma BNCT is a two-step cancer treatment approach….

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Asbestos | New Studies | Occupations | Research

Mesothelioma and Laboratory Pads
ByAlex Strauss May 8, 2018May 9, 2018

Studies have shown that fibers of both chrysotile and tremolite asbestos were found in the air where laboratories pads have been used. Multiple studies have confirmed that, if there is any chance of asbestos fibers entering the lungs, there is a risk of pleural mesothelioma or another asbestos-related condition. This is because it is very difficult for the body to rid itself of these sharp fibers after they have embedded themselves in the tissue. The longer these fibers stay in the body, the greater the likelihood that the person will eventually be facing a mesothelioma diagnosis.

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Chemotherapy | Europe | Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | International | Research | Treatments

New Immunotherapy Drug Stops Mesothelioma in Half of Patients Tested
ByAlex Strauss May 5, 2018May 5, 2018

The results are in on the Phase I/II trial of the mesothelioma drug ONCOS-102 and researchers say there is reason to be excited. As Surviving Mesothelioma first reported in the fall of 2016, ONCOS-102 and standard chemotherapy significantly slowed the growth of malignant mesothelioma tumors in preclinical studies of infected mice. Now, the first human trial suggests that it can do the same thing in some human mesothelioma patients, boosting the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy and improving mesothelioma survival. Mesothelioma Study Results According to news released by Norway-based drug maker Targovax this week, three out of six patients with unresectable mesothelioma responded to a combination of ONCOS-102 and standard chemotherapy. In two patients, their mesothelioma tumors stopped growing and in…

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Diagnosis | New Studies | New Techniques | Research

New Pill Could Make Mesothelioma Diagnosis Easier, More Accurate
ByAlex Strauss May 2, 2018

A pill that makes cancer cells glow under infrared light may have the capacity to improve the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. So far, the pill, being developed by researchers at the University of MIchigan with funding from the NIH, has only been tested on breast cancer tumors in mice. But it was so effective at exposing hidden clusters of cancer cells, that the research team expects it to be useful in the diagnosis of other cancers, too. That could eventually include mesothelioma. The Urgent Need for Earlier Mesothelioma Diagnosis Mesothelioma, a fast-growing cancer caused by asbestos exposure, is diagnosed in about 2,500 new patients in the US each year. About 2,000 of them have pleural mesothelioma, the most common type….

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Alternatives | Europe | International | Multi-Modality Therapy | New Studies | Research | Treatments

Prospects Good for New Electrical Field-based Mesothelioma Treatment
ByAlex Strauss April 29, 2018

Prospects are looking good for a company that has developed a new kind of mesothelioma treatment based on electrical fields, and for the patients who stand to benefit from it. Headquartered on the island of Jersey in the UK, the company is called Novocure. Their new technology, called Tumor Treating Fields, uses alternating electrical fields to destabilize critical proteins and disrupt mesothelioma cell division. Now, Novocure’s stock prices are rising and financial advisers are giving it a “buy” rating in the wake of the latest mesothelioma trial results showing longer survival for patients who received the treatment. Tumor Treating Fields and Mesothelioma Treatment Novocure launched the STELLAR study, a phase 2 pilot trial in people with pleural mesothelioma, after achieving positive…

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Europe | International | Surgery | Treatments

Minimally-Invasive CRS/HIPEC: Could it Revolutionize Mesothelioma Surgery?
ByAlex Strauss April 27, 2018July 16, 2018

A new study out of Spain suggests that it might be possible to perform the surgery that has become the standard of care for peritoneal mesothelioma in a much less invasive way. Cytoreductive surgery with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS/HIPEC) has dramatically changed the survival odds for people with the abdominal form of malignant mesothelioma, also known as asbestos cancer. Now, researchers at the University Hospital Reina Sofia in Cordoba, Spain say they have successfully performed this extensive multi-part procedure through tiny incisions using an internal camera for guidance. After treating eight abdominal cancer patients this way—including two with a benign form of peritoneal mesothelioma—the research team concludes that this minimally invasive mesothelioma surgery approach is “feasible and safe” in the…

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Europe | International | Surgery | Symptoms | Treatments

Plasma-Based Surgery May Be Safer Alternative for Some Mesothelioma Patients
ByAlex Strauss April 24, 2018

A minimally-invasive surgical technique that uses plasma energy to destroy diseased pleural tissue may be a safer alternative for mesothelioma patients who would not otherwise be candidates for surgery. Doctors at Harefield Hospital in the UK are reporting good results and no serious side effects from using the PlasmaJet Surgical System to operate on a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma. PlasmaJet uses the energy of ionized gas, called plasma, to dissect, vaporize, and seal fragile tissues through small incisions with no cutting. The UK team believes it may be a viable option for patients with advanced mesothelioma or those with other health problems that would make conventional surgery too risky. Mesothelioma Surgery Not for Every Patient Pleural mesothelioma grows on…

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Chemotherapy | Europe | International | New Studies | Research | Treatments

“Spray On” Drugs May Be New Option for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients
ByAlex Strauss April 23, 2018

A new, minimally-invasive way of delivering drugs right to the site of a tumor is being called “safe and feasible” for people with recurrent malignant mesothelioma. Right now, mesothelioma patients whose cancer comes back after surgery and systemic chemotherapy have few viable treatment options. The new procedure, called Pressurized Inraperitoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC), may change that. During PIPAC, chemotherapy drugs are essentially “sprayed” as gas directly onto the site of the cancer. PIPAC is performed through a small incision using a laparoscope for guidance. Testing PIPAC in Mesothelioma Treatment Right now, PIPAC is still in clinical trials, but it has already been used on thousands of patients in Germany and several other European locations. In a new malignant mesothelioma study,…

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Asbestos | Diagnosis | Europe | International | Occupations

New Mesothelioma Study Compares Different Types of Asbestos Exposure
ByAlex Strauss April 21, 2018

A new Turkish study is shining a spotlight on the role of environmental asbestos exposure in the development of malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive malignancy with no known cure. Malignant mesothelioma, which occurs on the membranes around the lungs, the abdominal organs or, more rarely, the heart, is most often associated with occupational asbestos exposure. But a new study in the Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health cautions that “Environmental asbestos exposure is as important as occupational exposure to develop malignant mesothelioma.” In addition, after studying 21 groups of Turkish mesothelioma patients with either environmental or occupational exposure, the researchers concluded that environmental exposure is different from occupational exposure in some notable ways. Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma Diagnosis Doctors have known…

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