Author: Alex Strauss

Asbestos | Biomarkers | Diagnosis | Europe | International | Prognosis | Updates

Earlier Mesothelioma Diagnosis with MicroRNAs
ByAlex Strauss June 23, 2016March 16, 2017

Tiny non-coding bits of RNA could hold the key to identifying malignant mesothelioma earlier and potentially improving mesothelioma survival. That finding comes from a team of cancer researchers in Ancona, Italy. A microRNA (miRNA) is a small part of an RNA molecule. Containing about 22 nucleotides, miRNAs play a key role in the regulation of gene expression in cells, including mesothelioma cells. This makes them prime candidates for use as mesothelioma biomarkers. MiRNAs as Mesothelioma Biomarkers Mesothelioma biomarkers are biological signposts found in tissue, blood, lung fluid, etc., that clinicians can use to guide them in treating mesothelioma patients and predicting mesothelioma outcomes. Recently, a group of scientists in Italy combed the scientific literature to find the miRNAs most closely…

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Australia | International | Mesothelioma | Symptoms | Treatments | Updates

Reassurance for Mesothelioma Patients with Indwelling Pleural Catheters
ByAlex Strauss June 20, 2016March 16, 2017

Mesothelioma patients with an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) for pleural effusion can rest assured that the device is unlikely to break down and cause additional problems, even if it is left in place for many months. In fact, IPCs may even eventually facilitate new kinds of mesothelioma treatments. In the first ever study on how IPCs hold up over time, researchers examined catheters removed from 41 cancer patients, almost half of whom had malignant mesothelioma. The rest had either breast, ovarian or lung cancer. Although the IPCs had been left in place for a median of 126 days (and some as long as 226 days), they were all fully intact when they were removed and were not hosting new mesothelioma…

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Asbestos | Europe | International | New Studies | Prevention | Research | Updates

Could Asbestos Play a Role in Kidney Cancer as Well as Mesothelioma?
ByAlex Strauss June 17, 2016June 20, 2017

New facts are emerging about the potential role of asbestos, the primary cause of malignant mesothelioma, in the development of kidney cancer. Doctors in Italy have just published the case report of a man who developed kidney cancer after 7 years of asbestos exposure. Just a year later, he also developed the cancer most closely associated with asbestos: malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos and Mesothelioma Development Before the mineral asbestos was linked to pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, it was a popular additive to a wide variety of building materials and consumer products. Decades later, thousands of people who mined asbestos, as well as those who manufactured, handled, installed, or otherwise came into contact with asbestos-containing products developed a hard-to-treat membrane cancer called…

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Biological Therapy | Chemotherapy | Europe | Immunotherapy | International | Multi-Modality Therapy | New Drugs | Research | Treatments | Updates

New Immunotherapy Drug Works Synergistically to Fight Malignant Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss June 15, 2016March 16, 2017

The creators of a new kind of cancer drug based on an altered cold virus say it appears to work synergistically with standard chemotherapy to combat malignant pleural mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma affects an estimated 2,500 people in the US each year and tens of thousands more around the world. It is caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos. Although chemotherapy with pemetrexed (Alimta) and a platinum drug like cisplatin or carboplatin is the primary first-line treatment for mesothelioma, only a small percentage of mesothelioma patients respond to this approach. But researchers with an Oslo, Norway-based company have developed an adenovirus-based drug that may prolong mesothelioma survival by boosting the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy. A New Kind of Cancer Drug ONCOS-102 is made from an altered…

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New Studies | Research | Surgery | Treatments | Updates

Quality of Life Better After Mesothelioma Surgery
ByAlex Strauss June 13, 2016March 16, 2017

A study led by a Loyola University thoracic surgeon finds that almost all patients who have a type of pleural mesothelioma surgery known as pleurectomy and decortication (PD) tend to enjoy a better quality of life afterwards, regardless of their starting point. Pleural mesothelioma, an intractable malignancy linked to asbestos exposure, affects the membrane that surrounds the lungs. As a mesothelioma tumor grows, many patients experience life-limiting symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss, cough and chest pain. PD is designed to improve symptoms by removing the diseased pleura and other at-risk tissues. As the new study found, PD can not only turn many of the most bothersome mesothelioma symptoms around, but can also give patients an emotional…

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Asia | Chemotherapy | International | New Drugs | New Studies | Research | Treatments | Updates

Enzyme Study Sheds Light on Potential New Mesothelioma Treatment
ByAlex Strauss June 10, 2016March 16, 2017

Japanese researchers say an enzyme that is highly overexpressed in malignant pleural mesothelioma tissues could be key to fighting this deadly cancer. Doctors at Kobe University in Hyogo, Japan say the enzyme, called orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRT), plays an important role in the inhibition of RNA synthesis which, in turn, can influence the development and spread of malignant mesothelioma. A New Target for Mesothelioma Therapy? To test whether this enzyme could potentially be a target for a new kind of mesothelioma treatment, the team enrolled 15 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients who were diagnosed between July 2004 and December 2013. They measured the levels of several different enzymes in these patients, among them OPRT and thymidylate synthase (TS), the primary enzyme targeted…

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

Investigational Mesothelioma Drug Produces Encouraging Results
ByAlex Strauss June 8, 2016September 15, 2017

The largest ever study of an anti-PD-L1 drug in patients with malignant mesothelioma has yielded some promising results. The drug is called avelumab and a Phase I study of its effect in people with mesothelioma was recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. National Cancer Institute’s Raffit Hassan, MD, one of the nation’s top mesothelioma experts, presented the findings. PD-L1 and Mesothelioma To understand how an experimental drug like avelumab might work, it is important to understand what PD-L1 is and how it is thought to impact the development and growth of mesothelioma tumors. PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) is a protein expressed on the surface of some mesothelioma cells. It plays an…

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Asbestos | Diagnosis | Genetics | Glocal | International | Research | Statistics | Updates

The Link Between Malignant Mesothelioma and Other Cancers
ByAlex Strauss June 6, 2016March 16, 2017

If you have malignant mesothelioma, evidence suggests that you have a higher-than-normal risk of also developing another type of cancer, either before or after your mesothelioma diagnosis. The research was carried out by a team of international scientists who examined the cases of more than 5,000 mesothelioma patients around the world. Second Primary Cancers After Mesothelioma In the first study of both secondary cancers after mesothelioma, and vice versa, the team first looked at cancer that developed after mesothelioma in 3,672 survivors of pleural mesothelioma and 895 peritoneal mesothelioma survivors. Among these patients, they found a higher incidence of kidney cancer within a year after a mesothelioma diagnosis. For all other cancers, although the incidence was still higher than normal,…

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Canada | Chemotherapy | International | Multi-Modality Therapy | New Studies | Research | Treatments | Updates

A New Option for HIPEC Mesothelioma Treatment?
ByAlex Strauss June 3, 2016March 16, 2017

Canadian researchers say the mesothelioma drug pemetrexed (Alimta) might make a good option for the specialized treatment known as heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), as long as the temperature is just right. Approved by the FDA in 2004, pemetrexed is still the only drug specifically approved for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma patients typically receive it systemically, through infusion, along with a platinum-based drug like cisplatin. But a Montreal research team says pemetrexed might also be effective if it is delivered using the HIPEC method. Since this use of pemetrexed has not yet been supported by preclinical studies, the team tested the theory in lab rats using varying drug concentrations and temperatures. What they discovered was valuable information about HIPEC…

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Alternatives | Legal | New Drugs | Symptoms | Treatments | Updates

Cannabis for Mesothelioma May Soon Be Legal in Ohio
ByAlex Strauss June 1, 2016March 16, 2017

Ohio mesothelioma patients could have access to medical marijuana to help manage their condition as early as this fall. Ohio legislators this week approved a medical marijuana bill, which now goes to Governor John Kasich to be signed. Cancer, including malignant mesothelioma, is one of 21 conditions covered in the bill. Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Bill Despite the fact that derivatives of the marijuana plant, most notably cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrcannabinol (THC), have been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times, lawmakers around the country have been slow to legalize their use in the treatment of medical conditions like mesothelioma. Legislators passed the bill this week in a close 18 to 15 vote, setting Ohio up to become the 25th state…

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