Adoptive Cell Therapy in Mesothelioma
|

Adoptive Cell Therapy and Interventional Oncology in Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

New data suggests that adoptive cell therapy is a powerful, targeted way to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a deadly cancer of the lining around the lungs. It is caused by asbestos exposure and is notoriously difficult to treat. Now, a new study suggests that cell therapy may help mesothelioma drug treatments work even better. What is Adoptive Cell Therapy? Adoptive cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy treatments harness the immune system to help fight cancer. Immunotherapy works alone or in combination with other treatments like chemotherapy or surgery. Many researchers and doctors believe that immunotherapy is the future of mesothelioma treatment. This therapy is a more targeted way to deliver these cancer-fighting drugs. It does…

Empowering Mesothelioma Patients with Patient-Reported Symptom Monitoring
|

New Mesothelioma Subtype Called Mesothelioma in Situ

ByHolly Zink

The 2015 WHO classification of pleural mesothelioma included three histological subtypes. The new fourth mesothelioma subtype is called mesothelioma in situ. It is a very early form of mesothelioma. Previous studies suggest that it may be a precursor to invasive mesothelioma. If patients know they have it, they may have years to try to keep mesothelioma from developing. Pathologists can tell the difference between the subtypes by looking at the cells under a microscope. Each subtype has a slightly different cell shape, growth pattern, and nuclear characteristics. Four Subtypes of Mesothelioma Pleural mesothelioma is a very rare type of cancer. Only about 2,500 people in the US receive a mesothelioma diagnosis every year. Asbestos inhalation is the primary cause of pleural mesothelioma. Most people with pleural…

Anxiety before a mesothelioma medical scan? You're not alone.

Clinical Scan Anxiety before a Mesothelioma Medical Scan? You’re not Alone.

ByHolly Zink

Many mesothelioma patients with advanced cancer have anxiety before a clinical scan. Clinicians have even coined this clinical scan anxiety as “scanxiety.” A new study published by Supportive Care in Cancer looked at the experiences of scans and scanxiety in patients with advanced cancer. They were looking for the best strategies to reduce clinical scan anxiety or scanxiety. The research team conducted interviews with 16 patients with advanced cancer. The team asked about anxiety felt during computed tomography (CT) scans for monitoring of their cancer. Anxiety About the Scan Experience and Scan Results For these patients, scans were viewed as a routine and normal part of cancer care. This is one of those “necessary evils” that is part of the…

Drug Combo Nivolumab plus ipilimumab Has Best Survival Rates in Relapsed Mesothelioma
| |

Drug Combo Nivolumab plus ipilimumab Has Best Survival Rates in Relapsed Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with limited therapeutic options. Pemetrexed plus platinum is often the first treatment option that clinicians turn to. There are now several options for second treatment therapy. This is useful in patients with relapsed mesothelioma. Yet some of these treatment therapies remain controversial. Several drugs were recently introduced to treat relapsed mesothelioma. A new study conducted a meta-analysis to check the efficacy of these drugs. After Chemotherapy, What Comes Next? Nivolumab alone or nivolumab plus ipilimumab provided significantly longer patient survival. In fact, treatment with nivolumab plus ipilimumab was found to have the best survival rates. Other treatments had a good survival rate compared with a placebo. These other treatments included tremelimumab, vorinostat, and chemotherapy…

Can Brain Natriuretic Peptide Predict Mesothelioma Outcomes?
| |

COVID-19 Pandemic Had Little Or No Impact On New Malignant Mesothelioma Diagnoses

ByHolly Zink

A new study published in Thoracic Cancer discussed the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on new mesothelioma diagnoses in Italy. Malignant mesothelioma is a rare disease of great interest to the scientific community and to public health. This is due to its high lethality and its association with asbestos exposure. The timely diagnosis of mesothelioma is important. Although it may not change the prognosis of the disease, it can help in treatment strategies. It can also help in documenting previous exposure to asbestos. This can contribute to any request for compensation. New Study Shows Promising Results During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a delay in the diagnosis of oncological diseases. This was because many departments were converted into COVID wards. And…

Mesothelioma Patients with Genetic Predisposition for Cancer are Candidates for Personalized Medicine
| |

Hope for Mesothelioma Patients with Genetic Predisposition (Germline PVs) for Cancer

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a tumor caused by asbestos exposure. Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved immunotherapy treatment for mesothelioma. But the efficacy of available treatments is still limited. Researchers are still evaluating these new therapeutic approaches. They are also working to identify subgroups of patients who could benefit from precision medicine. Precision medicine uses information about a person’s tumor to find out how well a treatment is working. One of these groups could be represented by patients with an inherited cancer syndrome. These are caused by germline pathogenic variants (PVs) in DNA repair genes. A germline pathogenic variant is a gene variant (or mutation) that is passed from parent to child. These germline PVs are hereditary….

Understanding CAR T-Cell Therapy in Malignant Pleural and Peritoneal Mesothelioma
| |

Understanding CAR T-Cell Therapy in Malignant Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

One of the new therapies for mesothelioma is called antigen receptor T-cell therapy. It gives promise to malignant mesothelioma patients. This unique therapy has recently shown that it works in phase I clinical trials. A new report from French scientists details the current state of this therapy. This therapy has only been tested in a highly selected patient population. And it requires highly complex engineering. Yet, the treatment therapy shows promise. Adapting CAR T-Cell Therapy to Mesothelioma Malignant pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma are rare and aggressive cancers. They have had limited treatment options with moderate survival benefits. And all treatments have an impaired quality of life for a very long period. A chemotherapy drug combination known as cisplatin–pemetrexed has been…

Using CT Scans in Surgical Decision-Making in Peritoneal Mesothelioma
|

Using CT Scans in Surgical Decision-Making in Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Peritoneal mesothelioma is caused by asbestos. The peritoneum is the space in your abdomen that contains the intestines, the stomach, and the liver. The abdomen (peritoneum) is the second most common site of mesothelioma after the pleural (lungs and chest). Most doctors believe peritoneal mesothelioma is caused by the ingestion of asbestos fibers. Microscopic asbestos fibers become embedded in the abdomen (peritoneum). After about 20-50 years, these fibers can cause inflammation and mutations in the healthy mesothelial cells. These mutations may ultimately cause these cells to become cancerous. Thus, forming tumors in the peritoneum. Patients diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma may survive several or more years after diagnosis. There are long-term survivors, such as Paul Kraus. Using CT Scans to Avoid…

Mesothelioma Risk in Canadian Firefighters and Police
| | |

Mesothelioma Risk in Canadian Firefighters and Police

ByHolly Zink

Firefighters and police usually work in high-stress, complex environments. And, these environments often have known and suspected hazardous and toxic exposures. A leading cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. Asbestos is toxic and cancer-causing for human beings. Asbestos causes mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Canadian researchers published a new study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. This new report characterizes cancer incidence among these occupations. Firefighters vs. Police The Canadian team used an Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS) to identify workers. Then they compared compensation claims to the Ontario Cancer Registry. They found 36,267 people employed as firefighters or police in Ontario. In the final analysis, there were a total of 13,642 firefighters and 22,595 police. When compared with other workers,…

Is Asbestos Fiber Type or Concentration More Important in Mesothelioma?
| |

Is Asbestos Fiber Type or Concentration More Important in Mesothelioma?

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is strongly associated with occupational asbestos exposure. The total asbestos fiber concentration may be associated with an increased risk of mortality. Asbestos fiber type was not as important. A new study looked at different types and concentrations of asbestos fibers in the lung tissues of mesothelioma patients. The team investigated their effects on patient mortality. Asbestos Fiber Analyses A Finnish team of scientists identified 590 patients to study. All patients had malignant pleural mesothelioma and underwent pulmonary asbestos fiber analysis. A pulmonary asbestos fiber type analysis is a special clinical test. It extracts fibers and asbestos bodies from a patient’s lung tissue. Usually, this uses a digestion-and-concentration technique. The examination may even include electron diffraction and energy-dispersive…