Author: Alex Strauss

Asbestos | Diagnosis | Europe | International | Occupations

Doll Making Linked to Pleural Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss April 29, 2017May 11, 2017

People who worked in factories that produced cloth dolls may have to be added to the list of people at risk of developing deadly malignant pleural mesothelioma. A new Italian study is the second study to draw a link between cases of the lung-related asbestos cancer and doll manufacturing. Asbestos-Related Diseases and Dollmaking The new study utilized data from the Province of Brescia Mesothelioma Registry, which has been tracking malignant mesothelioma cases in the region since 1993. Researchers analyzed a total of 757 cases of pleural mesothelioma that occurred through 2016. “We found three cases of pleural epithelial mesothelioma histologically diagnosed in young women who had worked in two doll manufacturing companies and whose asbestos exposure had been initially defined…

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Asia | Chemotherapy | International | Multi-Modality Therapy | New Studies | Research | Surgery | Treatments

Additional Chemotherapy Extends Survival in Relapsed Mesothelioma Patients
ByAlex Strauss April 27, 2017March 23, 2019

Mesothelioma patients who experience a recurrence of their asbestos cancer after radical surgery may live longer if they undergo additional rounds of chemotherapy. That conclusion comes from a group of Japanese researchers who performed a retrospective review of 59 consecutive pleural mesothelioma patients who had multimodal mesothelioma treatment that included extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery. Study subjects had been treated for malignant mesothelioma at Hyogo College of Medicine between July 2004 and August 2013. Patients received mesothelioma chemotherapy prior to surgery and some also received radiation therapy afterward. Second-Line Treatment and Mesothelioma Survival There is no universally-accepted second-line therapy for people whose malignant mesothelioma comes back after first-line treatment. Numerous studies have been conducted in an effort to find the most…

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Asia | Biomarkers | Diagnosis | International | Prognosis

More Evidence for Inflammation Marker in Mesothelioma Prognosis
ByAlex Strauss April 24, 2017July 24, 2017

There is more evidence that a measure of how well the immune system is functioning may be an efficient prognostic tool for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Even though some recent studies have found the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes (NLR) in the blood to be a poor prognostic indicator for cancer, Chinese researchers say it may still be effective for planning mesothelioma treatment and qualifying patients for clinical trials. The Prognostic Role of NLR The team of scientists from Sichuan University conducted a meta-analysis of 10 studies on the prognostic role of NLR in pleural mesothelioma. The study included more than 1,500 mesothelioma patients. Their findings indicate that there is a role for NLR in predicting outcomes and determining which…

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

Lung-Sparing Surgery and Mesothelioma Survival
ByAlex Strauss April 19, 2017

When it comes to the mesothelioma surgery known as pleurectomy/decortication (P/D), not all techniques are created equal. A new report in the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery finds that two of the three primary P/D approaches offer a significant mesothelioma survival advantage over the third. Setting up the Mesothelioma Surgery Study Thoracic surgeons from 11 Italian institutions reviewed the cases of 314 pleural mesothelioma patients who had P/D surgery to remove the pleural membrane and certain other at-risk tissues between January 2011 and October 2014. The characteristics of the study participants were in line with worldwide mesothelioma statistics. There were almost four times as many male mesothelioma patients as there were female, most had the epithelioid type of the mesothelioma…

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Europe | International | New Studies | Prognosis | Research | Statistics

Surgery May Impact Mesothelioma Survival More Than Stage
ByAlex Strauss April 18, 2017

A study conducted in Belgium appears to support the idea that whether or not a malignant pleural mesothelioma patient undergoes surgery may be a better predictor of survival than the stage of their cancer. The study including 101 patients diagnosed with or treated for pleural mesothelioma between 2001 and 2015 at Antwerp University Hospital. The goal of the study was to determine how closely the experience with mesothelioma at this single institution matched that of other institutions as documented in the medical literature. Overall Mesothelioma Survival In most respects, the mesothelioma survival data from the Antwerp study was similar to past mesothelioma studies. The analysis found that most (80%) mesothelioma patients at their hospital were men and that their median…

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Asbestos | Europe | International | Occupations | Statistics

Dental Technicians May Be at Increased Risk for Malignant Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss April 17, 2017May 11, 2017

A new study is highlighting a little known risk for people who have worked in the dental industry – the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma. The study conducted in Italy focuses on the cases of four dental laboratory technicians and one spouse of a technician who apparently developed pleural mesothelioma because of the asbestos used in the manufacturing of dental prostheses. The cases are a reminder that dental technicians who develop unexplained symptoms consistent with malignant mesothelioma should let their doctor know about their work history. Mesothelioma and the Dental Industry Dental technician is not a job that is typically associated with asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. During the height of its popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, asbestos was used in…

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Biopsy | Diagnosis | Europe | International | New Studies | New Techniques | Research

Cellular Factors Predict Survival in Epithelioid Mesothelioma Patients
ByAlex Strauss April 13, 2017August 26, 2019

A team of French scientists believe they have found a way to predict survival and help plan a treatment course for people with the epithelioid form of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Until now, mesothelioma histological subtype has been the only way to reliably predict mesothelioma prognosis based on pathology (cellular characteristics that can be seen under a microscope). But mesothelioma researchers at the University Hospital of Saint Etienne have identified several subtle differences between epithelioid mesothelioma cells from different patients that may have an impact on their treatment outcomes. Histopathology and Mesothelioma Prognosis Histopathology is the study of changes in tissue caused by disease. In the case of pleural mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos can cause the healthy cells in a person’s…

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

New Combination Treatment for Rare Mesothelioma Subtypes
ByAlex Strauss April 10, 2017May 10, 2017

An enzyme shown to help fight melanoma and liver cancer may offer new hope to patients with some of the most treatment-resistant mesothelioma tumors. Malignant mesothelioma is a rare, asbestos-linked cancer of internal membranes. Although all forms are highly resistant to standard cancer therapies, the sarcomatoid and biphasic subtypes – which are the rarest forms of mesothelioma – typically carry the worst prognosis. But a group of UK mesothelioma researchers now say an anticancer enzyme called pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG20) may improve chemotherapy outcomes for a particular subset of people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. How Does It Work? ADI-PEG20 depletes essential amino acid levels in tumors that do not express argininosuccinate synthetase 1 (ASS1), a key enzyme in the synthesis of…

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Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | New Drugs | New Studies | Research | Treatments

MS Drug May Help Treat Malignant Mesothelioma, Too
ByAlex Strauss April 8, 2017May 10, 2017

Preliminary tests of a potential new mesothelioma treatment have yielded some exciting results at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Mesothelioma researchers there are evaluating an immune system modulator called FTY720 or fingolimod. Derived from a fungus called Iscaria sinclairii, FTY720 has been used to treat the relapsing form of multiple sclerosis. Although FTY720 has shown what the research team calls “therapeutic potential” in some other forms of cancer, this is the first study evaluating the agent in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. FTY720 and Mesothelioma Treatment To test the impact of FTY720 on mesothelioma tumors, the researchers first treated a panel of mesothelioma cell lines as well as normal human mesothelial cells. They assessed the action of the…

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Multi-Modality Therapy | New Studies | Radiation Therapy | Research | Surgery | Treatments

New Evidence Supports Post-Surgical IMRT for Mesothelioma Treatment
ByAlex Strauss April 5, 2017May 10, 2017

Just a week after New York researchers published their own study on radiation therapy and mesothelioma surgery, a group of doctors from Texas has reached a similar conclusion – that highly-targeted radiotherapy can improve mesothelioma survival. This week’s study was conducted by radiation oncology specialists at Austin Cancer Centers and Baylor Scott and White Health in Temple, Texas. The team performed a retrospective analysis of 18 pleural mesothelioma patients who underwent radical lung-removing mesothelioma surgery between 2005 and 2014. They found that those who had hemithoracic (one sided) intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) lived longer than most people with the asbestos cancer. Multi-Modality Mesothelioma Treatment Because malignant mesothelioma is highly resistant to conventional cancer therapies, it usually requires a combination or…

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