Author: Alex Strauss

Alternatives | Asbestos | Europe | International | New Drugs | Treatments

Curcumin Shrinks Aggressive Mesothelioma Tumors in New Study
ByAlex Strauss September 18, 2017September 23, 2017

The bright yellow chemical that gives turmeric its spicy kick has scored yet another win as a possible treatment for malignant mesothelioma. This time, scientists used it on lab rats to successfully shrink one of the most aggressive types of mesothelioma tumors. The plant polyphenol curcumin has been the subject of numerous malignant mesothelioma studies in recent years, in part because of its powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin as a Mesothelioma Treatment The latest study of cucumin in malignant mesothelioma treatment was conducted by French scientists at several different research centers. The team used cells taken from rats that had been induced to develop one of the deadliest and most aggressive subtypes of asbestos cancer called sarcomatoid mesothelioma. The rats began to develop sarcomatoid…

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Australia | Chemotherapy | Europe | International | Multi-Modality Therapy | New Drugs | New Studies | Research | Treatments

New Chemotherapy Booster May Extend Mesothelioma Survival
ByAlex Strauss September 12, 2017November 1, 2017

Cancer researchers say the VEGF-inhibitor nintedanib (Ofev) extended mesothelioma survival by more than five months in patients on standard chemotherapy in a new trial. That is among the findings of a recently-published Phase II study of nintedanib as an adjunct therapy to pemetrexed (Alimta) and cisplatin for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Nintedanib Trial Details Nintedanib is currently used to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and some types of non-small cell lung cancer. To test its effectiveness in mesothelioma treatment, the LUME-Meso trial, a multi-center trial sponsored by drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim, recruited 87 people with either epithelioid or biphasic pleural mesothelioma. Patients could not have received any chemotherapy previously and were required to have a good performance status, meaning they had few…

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Europe | International | Statistics | Symptoms | Treatments

Fluid Drainage Brings Symptom Relief for Mesothelioma Patients
ByAlex Strauss September 9, 2017September 10, 2017

The majority of mesothelioma patients polled say they could breathe easier after a procedure to remove excess lung fluid from their chest. The more fluid that was removed, the better they felt. Those findings come from a new UK study of patient-reported outcome measures among 158 people suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma. Collecting Data from Mesothelioma Patients The data that formed the basis of the study was collected as part of the patients’ routine clinical care for their pleural mesothelioma, a virulent cancer of the lining around the lungs. Evaluation tools were used that included two patient-reported scores on their level of improvement after specific mesothelioma treatments. “Excluding diagnostic aspiration, the majority of patients (108/126, 85.7%) experienced symptomatic benefit from…

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Asbestos | New Studies | Occupations | Research | Statistics

Mesothelioma Incidence Unaffected by Ambient Asbestos in Cities
ByAlex Strauss September 6, 2017

City dwellers are no more likely to contract malignant pleural mesothelioma from asbestos dust in the air than people who live in rural areas – even though there is more asbestos dust in cities. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Risk Analysis. The study was based on the fact that so-called “ambient asbestos”, or asbestos fibers that are free in the environment as dust, is known to be up to ten times higher in urban areas. What is Asbestos? Asbestos, a fibrous mineral once widely used in building products in the US, is the primary cause of malignant mesothelioma around the world. Once asbestos fibers are breathed in or swallowed, they tend to stay…

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Asbestos | Asia | International | Mesothelioma | Occupations | Statistics

The World’s Workers Still Dying From Malignant Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss September 4, 2017

An international study of malignant mesothelioma suggests that deaths from the asbestos cancer have increased in recent years, in spite of advances in diagnostic and treatment tools. The study included data and estimates on deaths from malignant mesothelioma in 230 countries between 1994 and 2014. Based on information obtained from the World Health Organization, a team of scientists in Japan, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and the UK grouped the countries into three categories – those with reliable numbers on malignant mesothelioma deaths, those with less reliable mesothelioma data, and those that do not track mesothelioma deaths. Mesothelioma Deaths Are Up The researchers found that, in the 59 countries that keep good data on mesothelioma deaths (including the US), more…

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Asbestos | Diagnosis | Glocal | International | New Studies | Research | Scans

Miner Study Finds Mesothelioma Often Undiagnosed
ByAlex Strauss August 31, 2017August 31, 2017

A new study of former South African mine workers suggests that too many asbestos-related diseases may be going undiagnosed. The study conducted by researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand and the National Institute for Occupational Health in Johannesburg found that, in a cohort of 149 workers, more than half of the cases of malignant mesothelioma were missed until after the patient had died. With cases of asbestos-related lung cancer, the difference between the number of cases identified by an autopsy and the number of cases actually diagnosed in the patient’s lifetime was even more dramatic – 22 identifications on autopsy versus just 3 lung cancer diagnoses. Doctors diagnosed 52 cases of the lung-scarring disease asbestosis among the studied workers,…

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New Studies | Prognosis | Research | Surgery | Treatments

New Research Finds Little Survival Difference Between Mesothelioma Surgeries
ByAlex Strauss August 29, 2017

The largest analysis of mesothelioma surgery ever done finds little survival difference between lung-sparing and lung-removing surgeries. A team of top mesothelioma oncologists and surgeons at three US Universities analyzed the cases of 1,307 malignant mesothelioma patients from the National Cancer Database (NCDB), a joint project of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society. After using a series of statistical tools to analyze the data, the researchers concluded that, in terms of mortality, hospital readmission rates, and mesothelioma survival, extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) were almost evenly matched. “Median overall survival in the EPP and P/D groups was 19 versus 16 months; no differences were observed after propensity-matching,” writes Vivek Verma, MD, a radiation oncology resident…

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

Preventing and Treating Mesothelioma with Phytochemicals
ByAlex Strauss August 27, 2017

Italian scientists say it may one day be possible to treat or even prevent malignant mesothelioma by harnessing the powerful phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables. Malignant mesothelioma is the most deadly of the diseases linked to asbestos exposure. There is no cure and standard cancer therapies are rarely able to stop its progression for long. But, in a new report published in the October 2017 edition of the journal Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, doctors from the Polytechnic University of Marche in Ancona say many dietary phytochemicals impact microRNA expression which, in turn, may influence the development of mesothelioma. MicroRNAs and Mesothelioma A microRNA is a small non-coding molecule of RNA that plays a role in how genes are expressed by silencing…

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Asbestos | Europe | International | Occupations | Statistics

Second Study Confirms Pleural Mesothelioma Risk Plateau
ByAlex Strauss August 25, 2017

Another new study has confirmed the idea that pleural mesothelioma risk does not appear to increase indefinitely after asbestos exposure, but instead may eventually hit a plateau. The newest study involved more than 1,800 asbestos cement workers in Pavia, Italy. Researchers in the department of public health at the University of Pavia and the University Eastern Piedmont in Novara computed the mortality ratios for the major causes of death among the workers. Major Causes of Death Among Asbestos Workers Not surprisingly, they found that asbestos workers faced a higher risk of dying from pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis, all of which have been directly linked to asbestos exposure. In contrast to some other mesothelioma studies, the researchers…

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Chemotherapy | Multi-Modality Therapy | New Studies | Prognosis | Research | Statistics | Treatments

New Report Reveals Disparities in Mesothelioma Treatment
ByAlex Strauss August 23, 2017

A new study of mesothelioma treatment and survival in the US contains some disturbing facts about treatment trends. Among them is the fact that people over 70 are much less likely to get any treatment for malignant mesothelioma, a rare but but fast-growing malignancy that can be quickly fatal. In fact, nearly a third of mesothelioma patients receive no therapy at all. The study was based on 2011 data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End REsults (SEER) database. It included 389 patients with pleural mesothelioma and 53 patients with non-pleural mesothelioma. The researchers used statistical models to identify the factors associated with receiving mesothelioma treatment and to calculate mortality rates. Mesothelioma Treatment and Survival One of the…

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