Search Results for: epithelioid

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    Predicting Mesothelioma Outcomes with Soluble Mesothelin

    ByAlex Strauss

    New research suggests that a protein often used to help diagnose and track malignant mesothelioma may also be a valuable prognostic indicator. Soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP) is a biomarker for pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos-linked cancer that causes few symptoms until in its late stages. The presence of SMRP in the blood indicates that mesothelial cells on the lining around the lungs have been damaged. By testing the level of SMRP in the blood of a person with suspected mesothelioma, doctors can both confirm the diagnosis and track how well mesothelioma treatments are working. The Mesomark laboratory test for SMRP has become a staple of mesothelioma care in recent years. Determining Mesothelioma Prognosis Many factors influence mesothelioma prognosis, or likelihood…

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    VEGF-Inhibitor Looks Promising for Malignant Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is more encouraging news about the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) and its potential to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. A pair of oncology researchers from Texas have just released their summary of the the most recent published studies on bevacizumab. They conclude that, for the right patients, bevacizumab may improve mesothelioma outcomes and extend survival by blocking tumor blood vessel formation (angiogenesis). This ability of bevacizumab to help standard mesothelioma chemotherapy work better is why the drug has been included as a possible first-line mesothelioma treatment in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines since 2016. Bevacizumab for Mesothelioma Therapy Bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits angiogenesis in mesothelioma tumors by blocking VEGF, a protein…

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    More Evidence for Inflammation Marker in Mesothelioma Prognosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is more evidence that a measure of how well the immune system is functioning may be an efficient prognostic tool for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Even though some recent studies have found the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes (NLR) in the blood to be a poor prognostic indicator for cancer, Chinese researchers say it may still be effective for planning mesothelioma treatment and qualifying patients for clinical trials. The Prognostic Role of NLR The team of scientists from Sichuan University conducted a meta-analysis of 10 studies on the prognostic role of NLR in pleural mesothelioma. The study included more than 1,500 mesothelioma patients. Their findings indicate that there is a role for NLR in predicting outcomes and determining which…

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    Lung-Sparing Surgery and Mesothelioma Survival

    ByAlex Strauss

    When it comes to the mesothelioma surgery known as pleurectomy/decortication (P/D), not all techniques are created equal. A new report in the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery finds that two of the three primary P/D approaches offer a significant mesothelioma survival advantage over the third. Setting up the Mesothelioma Surgery Study Thoracic surgeons from 11 Italian institutions reviewed the cases of 314 pleural mesothelioma patients who had P/D surgery to remove the pleural membrane and certain other at-risk tissues between January 2011 and October 2014. The characteristics of the study participants were in line with worldwide mesothelioma statistics. There were almost four times as many male mesothelioma patients as there were female, most had the epithelioid type of the mesothelioma…

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    Surgery May Impact Mesothelioma Survival More Than Stage

    ByAlex Strauss

    A study conducted in Belgium appears to support the idea that whether or not a malignant pleural mesothelioma patient undergoes surgery may be a better predictor of survival than the stage of their cancer. The study including 101 patients diagnosed with or treated for pleural mesothelioma between 2001 and 2015 at Antwerp University Hospital. The goal of the study was to determine how closely the experience with mesothelioma at this single institution matched that of other institutions as documented in the medical literature. Overall Mesothelioma Survival In most respects, the mesothelioma survival data from the Antwerp study was similar to past mesothelioma studies. The analysis found that most (80%) mesothelioma patients at their hospital were men and that their median…

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    Tri-Modality Treatment Extends Mesothelioma Survival

    ByAlex Strauss

    New research suggests that a combination of lung-sparing surgery, highly targeted radiotherapy, and chemotherapy may bolster survival in people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York have just published some promising findings on trimodality mesothelioma treatment with hemithoracic intensity-modulated pleural radiotherapy (IMPRINT). Conventional RT vs IMPRINT The team analyzed the cases of 209 mesothelioma patients who underwent the lung-sparing mesothelioma surgery known as pleurectomy with decortication (P/D) between 1974 and 2015. As is typical with mesothelioma, most patients (80%) were men and their average age was 64. In 131 of the mesothelioma patients, surgery was followed by chemotherapy and conventional radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is designed to damage the DNA of mesothelioma cells to make…

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    Platelet Count Linked to Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival After Surgery

    ByAlex Strauss

    Peritoneal mesothelioma patients whose bodies produce too many blood platelets may not be good candidates for the treatment combination known as CRS with HIPEC. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a process for removing as much peritoneal mesothelioma from the abdomen as possible and killing any cancer cells left behind with a wash of heated medication. It has become the preferred treatment protocol for select mesothelioma patients and has been linked to longer survival. However, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine finds that having a condition called thrombocytosis prior to surgery can have a negative impact on mesothelioma survival after CRS/HIPEC. CRS/HIPEC and Mesothelioma Survival During CRS, surgeons…

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    Mesothelioma Tumor Thickness May Help Predict Treatment Outcomes

    ByAlex Strauss

    New research out of Canada suggests that mesothelioma tumor thickness could be used to help predict mesothelioma survival and select the best treatments.  Doctors at the University of Toronto compared the thickness of pleural mesothelioma tumors in 65 patients who had not yet received any treatment with their eventual outcomes and found a definite correlation. Summarizing their research in The European Respiratory Journal, the team called their findings “extremely encouraging” because of their potential to help direct treatment for the best mesothelioma outcomes. Setting up the Research All of the patients in the new study had been chosen to undergo “surgery for mesothelioma after radiation therapy”, also known by the acronym SMART. The total thickness of each patient’s mesothelioma tumors…

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    Mesothelioma Diagnosis: Fluid Cytology Versus Biopsy

    ByAlex Strauss

    A mesothelioma diagnosis using pleural fluid is just as reliable at predicting survival as a diagnosis based on a tissue sample. That conclusion, published in a recent issue of the British Journal of Cancer, is based on an analysis of more than 2,000 cases of malignant mesothelioma over 42 years. Researchers from the University of Western Australia and Curtin University in Perth compared the survival rates and diagnostic methods used on mesothelioma patients in an effort to determine whether pathologists had correctly identified their subtypes. Their results suggest that they had, which is good news for patients. Subtypes of Malignant Mesothelioma There are three primary subtypes of malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer usually caused by asbestos exposure. Epithelioid mesothelioma is…

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    Predicting Mesothelioma Prognosis with PET/CT

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is new evidence that the rate at which mesothelioma tumors metabolize glucose could provide significant prognostic information for mesothelioma patients and their doctors. Pleural mesothelioma is an especially fast-growing asbestos-linked malignancy. It typically carries a grim prognosis but several factors can impact mesothelioma survival, including tumor characteristics that can only be measured using advanced PET/CT imaging. Now, researchers in Japan say one of those characteristics, known as total lesion glycolysis (TLG), is especially valuable for determining mesothelioma prognosis. What is FDG PET/CT? Available primarily at larger cancer centers, positron emission tomography/computed tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG PET/CT) is an advanced nuclear imaging test for measuring the aggressiveness of cancers like malignant mesothelioma. PET with FDG is used to determine the metabolic…