Search Results for: asbestos/

This Subset of Mesothelioma Patients May Live Longer
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This Subset of Mesothelioma Patients May Live Longer

ByAlex Strauss

A group of mesothelioma experts from around the world has identified a set of criteria linked with longer mesothelioma survival. They are hopeful that their research will help doctors identify mesothelioma patients who fall into this longer-living group and direct them to the special care they may need to stay healthier, longer. In a new article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, some of the world’s leading mesothelioma researchers, including scientists from Stanford University, New York University Langone Medical Center, The University of Hawaii, the Hyogo College of Medicine in Japan, and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, say mesothelioma patients who meet these criteria should consider genetic counseling and cancer screening. Criteria for Improved Mesothelioma Outcomes The report was based…

Old Drug May Breath New Life Into Mesothelioma Radiotherapy
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Old Drug May Breath New Life Into Mesothelioma Radiotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers at the University of Ohio may have found a way to make radiation therapy more effective for people with mesothelioma and other types of solid tumors. They’re using a muscle relaxant approved in the 1800s to increase the level of oxygen in cancer cells and make them more susceptible to the damaging effects of radiation. The research could have wide-ranging implications, especially for patients fighting treatment-resistant malignancies like pleural mesothelioma. The Limitations of Radiation for Pleural Mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer associated with asbestos exposure that occurs on the membranes around internal organs. Although the irregular shape and tricky location of mesothelioma tumors can make them difficult to treat with radiotherapy, advanced targeting techniques are making it more…

New Data Suggest a Mesothelioma Blood Test is Possible
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New Data Suggest a Mesothelioma Blood Test is Possible

ByAlex Strauss

A new technology that looks for genetic material from cancer cells in the blood could open the door to the fastest, easiest way yet to diagnose early malignant pleural mesothelioma. The test, which has already shown potential for early detection of lung cancer, was developed by a California-based life sciences company called GRAIL. GRAIL-funded researchers shared the data on the test at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting this summer in Chicago. The results are part of the preliminary data from the company’s ongoing Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas study, a huge study on cancer diagnosis that aims to enroll 15,000 people (70 percent with cancer and 30 percent without) from 141 sites in the US and Canada. “We’re…

Mesothelioma Genetic “Fingerprint” Could Impact Compensation
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Mesothelioma Genetic “Fingerprint” Could Impact Compensation

ByAlex Strauss

A new report suggests that it may be possible to verify that a case of lung cancer or malignant mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos. The key may lie in tiny cellular structures called  microRNAs. If the microRNA asbestos profile can be verified, it could have a significant impact on work-related compensation for pleural mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer. The Molecular “Fingerprint” of Mesothelioma? MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding molecules of RNA that play a key role in the regulation of gene expression in cells. When these miRNAs are out of balance or “overexpressed”, the result can be cancer. By examining the miRNAs of mesothelioma patients, lung cancer patients, and healthy subjects, researchers at Marche Polytechnic University in Ancona, Italy…

Heartland Teachers Face Mesothelioma Risk in the Classroom
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Heartland Teachers Face Mesothelioma Risk in the Classroom

ByAlex Strauss

Even though teaching is not a profession typically associated with asbestos exposure, a newly published report out of Wisconsin offers a disturbing reminder of the mesothelioma risk posed by asbestos, wherever it is found.   Researchers with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the University of Wisconsin analyzed mesothelioma incidence in the state between 1997 and 2013. They discovered that, not only are there higher numbers of malignant mesothelioma cases among people in construction and manufacturing — two areas that have often been linked to mesothelioma — but the incidence also appears to be elevated among teachers. Malignant Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure Malignant mesothelioma is the most deadly of a group of illnesses associated with exposure to asbestos, a fibrous…

Advocacy Groups Call for Asbestos Ban on Mesothelioma Awareness Day
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Advocacy Groups Call for Asbestos Ban on Mesothelioma Awareness Day

ByAlex Strauss

Today marks the annual Mesothelioma Awareness Day in the US and mesothelioma patient advocacy groups are once again using the day to call for a total ban on asbestos, the primary cause of of this rare and deadly cancer. Asbestos is a carcinogenic mineral that was once commonly used in a variety of building, insulation, and household products. Since it was definitively linked to both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma in the early part of the 20th century, fifty-five countries have banned it. Even though asbestos is blamed for the mesothelioma deaths of an estimated 2,500 Americans every year (and as many as 40,000 deaths from other asbestos-related illnesses), the US has failed to institute a ban — a fact that…

Pleural Mesothelioma Risk: Genes and Exposure Both Play a Role
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Pleural Mesothelioma Risk: Genes and Exposure Both Play a Role

ByAlex Strauss

When it comes to the development of malignant pleural mesothelioma, your job and your relatives both appear to play critical roles. A new study in the European Journal of Cancer points to the interplay between environment and genetics in the development of the asbestos cancer. The study shows, once again, just how destructive asbestos can be to human health. Analyzing Mesothelioma Incidence Among Swedes The new research used data from the Swedish Family-Cancer Database, which includes all Swedes born after 1931 and their biological parents – a total of 16.1 million people, including 2.3 million cancer patients. After analyzing the data on all people with pleural mesothelioma, the researchers determined that those who worked around asbestos were more than three…

Mesothelioma Risk May Differ Between Children and Adults
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Mesothelioma Risk May Differ Between Children and Adults

ByAlex Strauss

Australian researchers say it may take longer for asbestos-exposed children to develop malignant mesothelioma than it takes adults with the same level of exposure. Public health researchers with multiple Australian Universities and Utrecht University in The Netherlands say being younger may offer a short-term reprieve from the mesothelioma-inducing effects of asbestos. Unfortunately, that lower susceptibility is unlikely to last for a lifetime. Studying the People of Wittenoom Scientists determined that asbestos-exposed children are less likely to contract malignant mesothelioma, at least in the short term, by studying the records of Australians who lived around the notorious Wittenoom asbestos mine. The Wittenoom mine, which mined for crocidolite or “blue” asbestos from 1943 to 1966, has now been linked to hundreds of…

School Supply Study Raises Mesothelioma Concerns
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School Supply Study Raises Mesothelioma Concerns

ByAlex Strauss

A group that tests common school supplies for toxins is warning parents to stay away from Playskool brand crayons sold at Dollar Tree stores because they could contain trace amounts of asbestos. Even small amounts of asbestos have been linked to malignant mesothelioma, a rare but deadly cancer that can crop up decades after exposure. The US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a non-governmental watchdog agency, says multiple tests of the green Playskool crayons found asbestos concentrations from .10% to .13%. It is believed the asbestos may have come from the talc used in crayon manufacturing. The two types of mineral deposits typically lie close to each other and talc mines are often contaminated with asbestos. Could Crayons Really Cause…

Unravelling the Mystery Behind Mesothelioma Tumors
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Unravelling the Mystery Behind Mesothelioma Tumors

ByAlex Strauss

In what could be a step closer to a mesothelioma cure, French cancer researchers say they have identified two of the key genetic pathways responsible for triggering mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed people. Led by Inserm (The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), the study focused on mice that had been genetically engineered with mutations on certain tumor-suppressor genes known to play a role in malignant mesothelioma in people. Learning About Human Mesothelioma from Mice In the experiment, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, some of the genetically engineered mice, as well as some normal (wild type) mice, were exposed to asbestos while others were not. The goal was to understand exactly what is happening at the molecular…