Author: Alex Strauss

Alternatives | Asia | International | New Drugs | New Studies | Research | Treatments

Bullfrog Eggs May Hold the Secret to Mesothelioma Survival
ByAlex Strauss January 5, 2018

Researchers in Japan believe they may have discovered a new and more effective drug for the intractable asbestos cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma – and it comes from an unlikely source. Sialic acid-binding lectin (cSBL) is a protein derived from the eggs of bullfrogs. It has the ability to bind to cell membranes and appears to exhibit antitumor activity through the degradation of RNA. Previous studies have shown cSBL to be involved in a variety of important biological processes. A New Kind of Mesothelioma Treatment? In a new report published in the open-access online medical journal PLoS One, researchers from the Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Sendai, Japan say cSBL has the potential to extend mesothelioma survival. The team first tested…

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Asia | Chemotherapy | International | New Studies | Prognosis | Radiation Therapy | Research | Surgery | Treatments

Predicting Mesothelioma Survival: A New Model
ByAlex Strauss January 2, 2018January 2, 2018

Could a geometric diagram hold the key to predicting the treatment outcomes of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma? A team of thoracic surgery experts at China’s Fudan University believe the answer is yes. The team has developed such a diagram, called a nomogram, and used it to demonstrate the connection between a list of prognostic factors and actual mesothelioma survival. Predicting Mesothelioma Prognosis The new nomogram, recently published in the World Journal of Surgery, uses information on malignant mesothelioma treatments and outcomes from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to offer a prediction model for overall mesothelioma survival. To build it, researchers analyzed the prognostic value of a long list of variables including age, gender, race, year of…

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Asbestos | Compensation | Mesothelioma Breaking News

Glitter Makeup Pulled from Shelves Amid Mesothelioma Fears
ByAlex Strauss December 29, 2017

Despite decades of evidence that asbestos exposure can cause malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other illnesses, the toxin is still being used in some unexpected and potentially dangerous ways. CNBC is reporting that the jewelry story Claire’s has pulled several different glitter-containing makeup products from its shelves amid fears that they may contain asbestos. WJAR-TV in Rhode Island broke the story last week after a local woman suspected there might be asbestos in her daughter’s glitter makeup kit and sent it away to an independent lab to be tested. The woman works for a law firm that specializes in asbestos class-action lawsuits. Mesothelioma-Causing Tremolite Found Scientific Analytical Institute reportedly confirmed that the kits – including the bedazzled rainbow heart makeup…

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Diagnosis | Holistic | Legal | Prognosis

Six Resolutions Mesothelioma Patients Should Make in 2018
ByAlex Strauss December 28, 2017

The New Year is often a time to set new goals and make plans. While it is important for mesothelioma patients and their families to fully embrace the present, there are also some goals worth setting, even if the prognosis seems grim. The following six New Year’s resolutions can help ensure the best possible quality of life and treatment outcomes for people battling malignant mesothelioma in 2018. Resolution #1: Seek out a cancer center with experience in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an extremely rare cancer, affecting just 2,500 people in the entire US each year. As a result, many physicians have never even seen a single case and may be unfamiliar with evolving best practices in the…

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Alternatives | Europe | Holistic | International | New Studies | Research

Staying Active May Help Mesothelioma Patients Manage Stress
ByAlex Strauss December 26, 2017

Keeping up with rewarding activities may be one way that mesothelioma patients can keep themselves emotionally healthy during cancer treatment. A new study from Spain’s University of Oviedo finds that lung and breast cancer patients who stayed engaged in their favorite activities fared better emotionally and socially than patients who abandoned theirs. Emotional Stress of Mesothelioma Diagnosis Receiving a diagnosis of mesothelioma or another type of cancer can be profoundly stressful. It is not uncommon for patients to give up activities that they previously found rewarding, as they struggle to manage their stress and cope with their new reality. But research suggests that this can be a mistake. As Concepcion Fernandez-Rodriguez, lead author of the new study, observes in the…

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Glocal | International | Prognosis | Surgery | Treatments

CRS/HIPEC May Extend Survival in Rare Form of Peritoneal Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss December 23, 2017

There has been an exciting new development in the treatment of one of the most aggressive forms of peritoneal mesothelioma. Biphasic mesothelioma is a variant of malignant mesothelioma that is even less responsive to standard cancer treatments than the more common epithelioid subtype. Many studies of peritoneal mesothelioma treatment have focused on people with the epithelioid form of the asbestos cancer, but much less is known about the most effective ways to treat people with biphasic mesothelioma. Now, a multicenter, international research study suggests that a treatment protocol that has extended survival in epithelioid peritoneal mesothelioma patients may do the same for biphasic patients. CRS/HIPEC Treatment for Peritoneal Mesothelioma The treatment, known as cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy…

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Asbestos | Asbestos | Australia | International | Mesothelioma | Prevention

Asbestos-Contaminated Insulation May Raise Mesothelioma Risk for Homeowners
ByAlex Strauss December 20, 2017

People who live in houses with loose-fill asbestos insulation may be up to five times more likely to eventually develop deadly malignant mesothelioma. That is the finding of a 30-year Australian study of more than a million people in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), where asbestos-containing insulation had been used in some houses. The study found that, not only do residents of asbestos-insulated homes have a higher mesothelioma risk, but their chances of getting several others types of cancer were also elevated. Mesothelioma Risk Among People Who Live with Asbestos Insulation Researchers with the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare at the University of Canberra used the…

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

Modified Surgical Approach May Boost Pleural Mesothelioma Survival
ByAlex Strauss December 17, 2017

For people with malignant pleural mesothelioma, surgery often offers the best odds of survival. But surgery can also come at a heavy cost in terms of pain, post-surgical side effects, and quality of life. Even lung-sparing pleurectomy with decortication, the least radical of the two major types of mesothelioma surgery, can cause life-threatening complications. But a new Italian study suggests that it may be possible to minimize side effects and maximize mesothelioma survival by using a modified version of pleurectomy followed by a specialized chemotherapy treatment. Pleurectomy for Treatment of Pleural Mesothelioma During a typical extended pleurectomy for a patient with pleural mesothelioma, surgeons remove the diseased pleural membrane where mesothelioma tumors grow. In an effort to keep mesothelioma from…

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Diagnosis | Europe | Holistic | International | New Studies | Research

Mindfulness May Help Mesothelioma Patients Cope
ByAlex Strauss December 13, 2017December 13, 2017

There is new evidence that lung cancer patients who receive training in mindfulness can dramatically lower their feelings of stress and anxiety. Lung-related cancers like pleural mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer have been shown to produce some of the highest levels of anxiety of any cancer. Although there are differences between the asbestos cancer malignant mesothelioma and other types of lung cancer, both malignancies tend to progress quickly and are often fatal. Psychological DIstress Common in Pleural Mesothelioma, Too In a new multi-center study published in the December issue of Psycho-Oncology, Dutch researchers invited a group of lung cancer patients and their partners to participate in an 8-week group-based intervention. A total of 64 study subjects received “care as…

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Asbestos | Diagnosis | Europe | International | New Techniques | Prevention

Breath Test May Finally Offer a Way to Screen for Pleural Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss December 12, 2017

Earlier diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma may be just a breath away. A new Belgian study shows that two kinds of breath-analyzing tests may finally offer an accurate way to screen for the deadly asbestos cancer. An accurate screening tool could lead to earlier mesothelioma diagnosis, earlier intervention, and, potentially, better treatment outcomes. Pleural mesothelioma is an extremely rare but aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos fibers. Most people encounter these fibers in a work environment and most have no idea they are sick until mesothelioma is in an advanced stage and the odds of survival are slim. Although there are diagnostic tools that identify biomarkers in the blood or lung fluid of people with mesothelioma symptoms,…

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