Author: Alex Strauss

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    One in Three Mesothelioma Deaths Go Unreported in Brazil

    ByAlex Strauss

    Brazil has a history of underreporting mesothelioma deaths and the trend is not improving.  That is the word from Brazilian public health experts. Their new report appears in a recent issue of Occupational Medicine.  Researchers from the Institute of Collective Health in Salvador examined electronic medical records from across the country. They compared them with the official record of asbestos related diseases (ARDs) in Brazil’s Mortality Information System.  They discovered that more than 300 mesothelioma deaths were missing from the roughly 1000 deaths reported between 2008 and 2014. The researchers say such underreporting makes it harder to evaluate “remedial policies” that could help prevent asbestos-linked illnesses. Asbestos in Brazil Asbestos is the primary cause of mesothelioma deaths worldwide. Mesothelioma is a…

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    New PD-L1 Inhibitor Could Make Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Safer

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new PD-L1 inhibitor may be on the horizon for people with malignant mesothelioma. A Phase I trial suggests it may be safer than some previous immunotherapy drugs.  PD-L1 is a protein that helps mesothelioma cancer cells hide from the immune system. Several of the most promising immunotherapy drugs for mesothelioma block PD-L1. But the new PD-L1 inhibitor is different. CX-072 (pacmilimab) has the ability to specifically target the tumor. This could reduce the risk for dangerous side effects since normal cells are less likely to be affected.  San Francisco-based CytomX Therapeutics developed CX-072 and a team of international researchers has been studying it. This week, they released the findings of their Phase I trial. The trial included patients with…

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    How Long Does Mesothelioma Risk Last After Asbestos Exposure?

    ByAlex Strauss

    If you experienced asbestos exposure more than 30 years ago and you have not developed mesothelioma, your risk for the disease may be starting to decline.  A new Italian study is the latest to suggest that mesothelioma risk may taper off over time. A group of occupational health experts conducted the study. Their goal was to predict mesothelioma trends in Italy until 2040.  The data shows that mesothelioma cases will probably peak this year. But they also show that most of those cases will happen in people with asbestos exposure in the last three decades.  Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma Incidence Asbestos is the main cause of malignant mesothelioma. A small number of mesothelioma cases happen without any known asbestos exposure….

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    Personalized Exercise Program Improves Mesothelioma Quality of Life

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new case study suggests that a personalized exercise program could improve the quality of life for people fighting malignant mesothelioma. An estimated 2,500 Americans receive a mesothelioma diagnosis every year. Most of them are over 65. This population is typically less active than younger people anyway. It can be even harder to get enough physical activity when they are depleted by cancer and treatment. Research shows that physical activity does more than make patients stronger. It can also help them fight cancers like malignant mesothelioma. But many patients still do not get enough. The new report shows how a custom exercise program can help mesothelioma patients feel and function better. Physical Activity and Mesothelioma Treatment Pleural mesothelioma is a…

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    CAR-T Cells + Keytruda: New Immunotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma?

    ByAlex Strauss

    Researchers at a top US cancer center are experimenting with a new approach to immunotherapy for pleural mesothelioma – with exciting results.  The research was done at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and published in a recent issue of Cancer Discovery.  The Phase I trial is the first to treat pleural mesothelioma patients with CAR-T cell therapy and the PD-1 blocker pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Although the trial was small, 83 percent of patients lived for more than a year. Some lived for nearly two.  Malignant Mesothelioma commonly claims the lives of patients within months. This new type of immunotherapy for pleural mesothelioma could be a breakthrough in improving survival. The Challenge of Malignant Mesothelioma Scientists have known about…

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    Mesothelioma Update: Drinking and Cancer Risk

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new study on the link between drinking and cancer risk may make people at risk for mesothelioma think twice about their alcohol consumption.  The new study is the latest to draw a direct line between drinking and cancer risk. According to the report released this week, more than 4 percent of new cancer cases last year were linked to alcohol use.  Asbestos exposure is the main cause of mesothelioma. But not everyone who is exposed to asbestos gets mesothelioma. Genetic factors play a role. But the new alcohol study suggests that drinking could also be a catalyst for cancer development.  The Link Between Drinking and Cancer Risk The new study was conducted by scientists from the International Agency for…

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    New Test May Help Doctors Choose the Best Mesothelioma Surgery

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new predictive model may make it easier for cancer doctors to choose the best mesothelioma surgery for each pleural mesothelioma patient.  There are two major surgical approaches for pleural mesothelioma. One involves removal of a lung and the other does not.  Right now, the choice about which surgery to have is based on patient demographics, symptoms, and lab values. Which surgery is most common at the institution may also play a role. Many surgeons have strong opinions about which is the best mesothelioma surgery.   But Harvard researchers say the new predictive model they tested is a better way to stratify mesothelioma patients. Their study suggests that this approach may lead to better treatment outcomes and more accurate clinical trials. …

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    Annual Report on Cancer Death Rates: Good and Bad News for Mesothelioma Patients

    ByAlex Strauss

    The latest report on cancer death rates in the US is both good and bad news for people with malignant mesothelioma.  The good news is that the rate of death from all types of cancer has declined in recent years. This is true for both men and women of all races. Better drugs and improved screening tools are some of the reasons.  The bad news for people with mesothelioma is that the likelihood of dying from it is not declining as rapidly as overall cancer death rates. Asbestos cancer continues to confound cancer researchers around the world.  Mesothelioma: A Rare Cancer with High Mortality Malignant mesothelioma is one of the rarest cancers in the US. That is fortunate because the…

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    Peritoneal Mesothelioma Prognosis: Searching for New Factors

    ByAlex Strauss

    An international research study including patients from 11 countries may help reveal new and better ways to predict peritoneal mesothelioma prognosis.  Right now, doctors use three primary criteria to determine peritoneal mesothelioma prognosis. Those are how much cancer was in the abdomen at the time of surgery, how complete the surgery was, and the tumor grade.  But about 70 percent of people treated for peritoneal cancers like mesothelioma have recurrent disease. The goal of the new study is to find more prognostic factors. Knowing these factors could help doctors make better choices about which patients are most likely to benefit from cytoreductive surgery (CRS).  The CRS/HIPEC Procedure for Mesothelioma Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs on the lining of the abdomen. Peritoneal mesothelioma…

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    South Korean Mesothelioma Rates Still Rising Decades After Asbestos Ban

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new report out of South Korea is proof that it can take many years for mesothelioma rates to decline even after implementing an asbestos ban. Asbestos is the number one cause of malignant mesothelioma worldwide. South Korea banned asbestos in 2009. But a report in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health shows the country will likely be dealing with the after-effects well into the future.  A national asbestos ban is a vital step toward fighting occupational cancer. But the new study is a sobering reminder that it cannot eliminate mesothelioma overnight.  Occupational Risk for Malignant Mesothelioma Mesothelioma can be a health hazard for anyone who ever worked with or around asbestos.  Once a worker inhales or…