Search Results for: epithelioid

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    Using Immune Cells to Predict Mesothelioma Outcomes

    ByAlex Strauss

    Immune system cells may be some of the best predictors of mesothelioma outcomes, according to a group of British scientists. A new article in the British Journal of Cancer has found a close association between outcomes in people with different subtypes of malignant mesothelioma and the levels of different types of immune system cells in their bodies. Measuring Immune Response To create the experiment, researchers with the University of Southampton in the UK devised a series of tests based on 302 tissue samples from people with advanced malignant mesothelioma. The samples were examined for markers of adaptive immune response including T-cells and B-cells as well as markers of innate immunity including neutrophils, natural killer cells and macrophages. These cells all…

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    10-Year Study Confirms Longer Mesothelioma Survival with Trimodal Therapy

    ByAlex Strauss

    Trimodality therapy including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation appears to give carefully-selected patients the best odds of surviving mesothelioma. In a new article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center detail the results of their analysis of mesothelioma survival using the National Cancer Database. Long-Term Mesothelioma Research The research team started with a pool of 20,561 pleural mesothelioma cases diagnosed between 2004 and 2014. They then focused on 6,645 patients who were matched for their similar characteristics. Of these, 850 underwent mesothelioma surgery, 988 had surgery with chemotherapy, and 274 underwent trimodality therapy. When the researchers compared the outcomes of mesothelioma patients with similar characteristics to each other, they found that cancer-directed surgery (surgery performed specifically…

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    These Proteins Appear to Shorten Mesothelioma Survival

    ByAlex Strauss

    New evidence suggests that mesothelioma patients whose tumors express two particular proteins do not live as long as other mesothelioma patients. An international team of scientists including mesothelioma researchers at the National Cancer Institute say ALCAM (also called CD166) and PD-L1 (CD274) are both associated with “significantly decreased” survival in pleural mesothelioma. Understanding ALCAM and PD-L1 ALCAM is a type I transmembrane protein that regulates cellular processes such as the formation of blood cells that feed a tumor (angiogenesis) and immune response. In cancers like malignant mesothelioma, it is considered a cancer stem cell marker and is associated with cancer invasion, progression, and spread. PD-L1 is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that is crucial for modulating immune responses in normal cells….

  • Prognosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    A mesothelioma diagnosis comes with many important questions. Perhaps the most crucial question is – what is the prognosis? In fact, the prognosis of mesothelioma varies depending on a number of variables. These variables include: The patient – their age, biology, and state of health The cancer – has the mesothelioma spread or is it localized when it is diagnosed and what is the cell type The treatment or treatments selected The expertise of the treatment team (doctors and other clinicians) The Patient’s Health A patient’s general state of health is an important prognostic factor in fighting any disease and mesothelioma is no exception. In addition, a patient’s biology or physiology also plays a role. For example, will chemotherapy work…

  • Treatments for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    When a person is diagnosed with mesothelioma, one of the first questions asked is what treatments are available. Treatments are, of course, dependent upon the patient. For mesothelioma they can depend on these factors and others: The type of mesothelioma The stage and cell type The health of the patient The patient’s decisions Type of Mesothelioma There are six types of mesothelioma. Four are malignant and two are generally considered benign. The malignant ones are: Pleural Peritoneal Testicular Cardiac The benign ones are: Multicystic peritoneal Well-differentiated papillary Typically, malignant disease requires more aggressive treatments to stop the cancer from growing and spreading. Such treatments may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or some combination. But despite these therapies, most malignant mesothelioma…

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    Osteoporosis Drug May Help Treat Advanced Mesothelioma, Too

    ByAlex Strauss

    A drug normally used to treat and prevent osteoporosis may be useful in the treatment of advanced malignant mesothelioma, too. The drug, called zoledronic acid, is a member of the drug class bisphosphonates and is also used to prevent skeletal fractures in patients with certain kinds of cancer.   In a new study published in the journal Lung Cancer, University of Alabama researchers found that more than a third of mesothelioma patients treated with zoledronic acid saw some benefit from it and none of them experienced any serious side effects. Testing Zoledronic Acid for Mesothelioma Malignant mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer of internal membranes caused by exposure to asbestos. Conventional cancer therapies do not typically work well for mesothelioma and researchers are…

  • Pathology Examination

    ByAlex Strauss

    All biopsy and fluid samples are sent to a pathologist. Pathologists use microscopes and special stains and assays to find out if the samples contain mesothelioma. Microscope not sufficient Under the microscope, mesothelioma may look like other types of cancer. For example, pleural mesothelioma can resemble some types of lung cancer, and peritoneal mesothelioma in women may look like some types of ovarian cancer. Because of this, special tests and assays are used by pathologists. These tests actually use special stains called immunohistochemistry to look for tell-tale proteins (antigens) often over expressed in mesothelioma cells. Immunohistochemical Assay for Pleural Mesothelioma For example, here are some immunohistochemical markers used to help identify epithelioid pleural mesothelioma: Calretinin – Demonstrated in virtually all…

  • Mesothelioma Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    How is mesothelioma diagnosed? Mesothelioma is usually diagnosed after a person goes to a doctor because they are experiencing symptoms. These symptoms depend on the type of mesothelioma and may include shortness of breath, pain in chest, and fluid retention for pleural mesothelioma, or abdominal pain, fatigue and ascites in the case of peritoneal mesothelioma. Methods for diagnosing mesothelioma cancer may involve: Imaging Scans Blood Tests and Biomarkers Biopsies Testing Fluids Pathology Exams Once diagnosed, doctors use a staging system to determine the stage of mesothelioma. Medical history and exam One of the first things your doctor may do is to perform a history and physical. The history involves learning about when the symptoms started and any mesothelioma risk factors…

  • Testicular and Cardiac Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Most cases of mesothelioma occur around the lungs (pleural) or around the abdomen (peritoneal). However, there are two rare subtypes that can occur. One is found around the testis and the other can be found around the heart. Estimates place each type to less than 50 cases a year. Testicular Mesothelioma Testicular Mesothelioma is also called paratesticular or mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis. It is a rare subtype of mesothelioma that involves the testis. Cause A major risk factor is exposure to asbestos, typically with a long latency between exposure and diagnosis. Symptoms The most common symptom is a mass or hydrocele (buildup of fluid) inside the scrotum. Symptoms of testicular mesothelioma may include scrotal problems, pain, and discomfort….

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    New Blood Test Could Mean Earlier Mesothelioma Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    A calcium-binding protein called calretinin may provide the basis for a new kind of blood test for the asbestos-linked cancer, malignant mesothelioma. Right now, there is no reliable way to detect the presence of a mesothelioma tumor before symptoms develop. The Search for a Mesothelioma Blood Test But scientists around the world are searching for ways to use certain compounds produced by tumors to diagnose mesothelioma earlier, allowing for earlier treatment and potentially better outcomes. Calretinin is one such compound. It is a protein involved in calcium signaling, a process that governs a number of critical cellular processes. A team of scientists from Germany and Australia recently pitted calretinin against the more established mesothelioma biomarker, mesothelin, in a test to see which protein…