Search Results for: epithelioid

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Activin A: A New Biomarker for Mesothelioma Prognosis?
ByAlex Strauss June 26, 2016March 16, 2017

If you’re a mesothelioma patient, should you have your activin A level checked? A new study suggests that this protein could give clinicians valuable information about the type of mesothelioma you have and the likely prognosis. Activin A is a protein complex that plays a role in cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis (cell death) metabolism, immune response, and other vital cellular functions. Past studies have indicated that it may contribute to the growth of malignant mesothelioma tumors. Testing a New Mesothelioma Biomarker In the newest study of activin A in mesothelioma, an international team of scientists collected plasma samples from 129 people with malignant pleural mesothelioma at four different European institutions. To provide a control for their tests, they also collected…

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Biomarkers | Diagnosis | Europe | Immune Systems | International | Prognosis | Research | Updates

Protein May Be Key to Mesothelioma Prognosis
ByAlex Strauss May 29, 2016March 16, 2017

A protein that downregulates the immune system and has been linked to a number of autoimmune disorders may help doctors predict pleural mesothelioma outcomes. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) is responsible for turning the body’s immune system “off” when an immune response is not needed. In many people with autoimmune disorders such as lupus, Grave’s disease and celiac disease, the gene responsible for CTLA-4 is mutated. The result is that the immune system attacks the body’s own cells. But patients with mesothelioma often have the opposite problem. Scientists Italy say an overexpression of CTLA-4 may help mesothelioma cells “hide” from the immune system, allowing tumors to grow out of control. CTLA-4 and Mesothelioma Prognosis CTLA-4 may play a role in the…

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Chemotherapy | Prognosis | Treatments | Updates

Modernizing the Process of Mesothelioma Prognosis
ByAlex Strauss February 18, 2016March 16, 2017

It is now more possible than ever to predict which mesothelioma patients are likely to benefit most from standard chemotherapy. Researchers at one of the nation’s top cancer centers have identified what they believe are key prognostic factors for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma who are not candidates for surgery. Mesothelioma Surgery Versus Chemotherapy Because pleural mesothelioma is such a difficult disease to treat, combatting it usually requires a combination of several therapies. Patients who are candidates for surgery may have chemotherapy or radiation prior to surgery in an effort to reduce the size of their mesothelioma tumor. After surgery, they may have more chemotherapy to keep mesothelioma cells from seeding new tumors. But not all mesothelioma patients stand to…

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Alternatives | Asia | Chemotherapy | International | New Drugs | Treatments | Updates

New Chemotherapy Approach Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumor in Japanese Patient
ByAlex Strauss February 4, 2016March 16, 2017

There is some potentially good news for mesothelioma patients who can’t tolerate pemetrexed, the most popular chemotherapy drug for the asbestos cancer. A team of doctors in Japan is reporting a good response in a mesothelioma patient treated with a specially-prepared version of paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin. The patient’s mesothelioma tumor shrank not once, but twice on this chemotherapy combination, suggesting that it may be a promising alternative to pemetrexed and cisplatin. Chemotherapy Treatment for Mesothelioma Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a notoriously difficult disease to treat. For mesothelioma patients who are not candidates for surgery, the most common treatment is a combination of pemetrexed (brand name Alimta) and a platinum-based drug called cisplatin. Unfortunately, there are a number of…

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Australia | International | Mesothelioma | New Studies | Prognosis | Research | Statistics | Updates

What We Can Learn from Mesothelioma Trends in Australia
ByAlex Strauss December 30, 2015March 16, 2017

New data out of Australia is revealing some important trends in the incidence and survivability of malignant mesothelioma. The good news is that researchers from the University of Sydney and the Cancer Institute of New South Wales say the number of mesothelioma cases in the country may finally have peaked. Unfortunately, most mesothelioma patients still face an uphill battle, despite treatment advances. History of Mesothelioma in Australia Mesothelioma is a deadly lung-related cancer closely linked with asbestos exposure. Pleural mesothelioma, the most common type, occurs in the lining around the lungs while peritoneal mesothelioma affects the lining of the abdomen. Thousands of people who used to work in Australia’s large asbestos mines have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, resulting in…

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Europe | International | Multi-Modality Therapy | Prognosis | Surgery | Treatments | Updates

New Method Could Help Identify Best Candidates for Mesothelioma Surgery
ByAlex Strauss November 19, 2015March 16, 2017

Peritoneal mesothelioma patients with high levels of a certain protein may not be good candidates for mesothelioma surgery. Italian researchers came to that conclusion after evaluating the medical records of 117 patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. The patients had all undergone the gold standard mesothelioma treatment of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) followed by heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Characteristics of Mesothelioma Surgery Candidates Most of the mesothelioma patients included in the study (102) had the epithelioid type of peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer that spreads across the lining of the abdomen. The rest had either sarcomatoid or biphasic mesothelioma. More than 80 percent of the patients were “optimally cytoreduced”, meaning that their mesothelioma surgeries removed as much of the disease as possible. All of…

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Genetics | New Studies | Prognosis | Research | Statistics | Updates

Study Finds Molecular and Clinical Gender Differences in Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss November 15, 2015March 16, 2017

Malignant pleural mesothelioma may act differently in men and women due to differences at the molecular level. Researchers in some of the nation’s top medical centers say understanding these gender-specific mesothelioma traits may lead to new and better treatments. “Insight into the survival advantage of female patients may advance the molecular understanding of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and identify therapeutic interventions that will improve the prognosis for all MPM patients,” says study author Assunta De Rienzo, PhD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Understanding Gender-Specific Mesothelioma Traits Mesothelioma researchers have long known that women with mesothelioma have a survival advantage over male mesothelioma patients. Now, scientists at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Baylor College of Medicine believe they are moving…

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Multi-Modality Therapy | Prognosis | Radiation Therapy | Statistics | Treatments | Updates

Support for Three-Prolonged Mesothelioma Treatment Approach
ByAlex Strauss September 10, 2015March 16, 2017

Three treatments are better than one when it comes to malignant pleural mesothelioma. That is the conclusion of a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington. The team studied mesothelioma patients who received trimodality therapy with radiation between 1980 and 2011 and found that those who had three types of treatment, instead of just one or two, had a median survival more than a third longer than other mesothelioma patients in the same hospital. The study included 78 eligible mesothelioma patients with a median age at diagnosis of 59. About 60 percent of the mesothelioma patients who were selected for trimodality therapy were in the early stages of the disease. The majority (86%) also had the epithelioid variety…

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Biomarkers | Biopsy | Diagnosis | New Studies | New Techniques | Prognosis | Research | Updates

A New Look at the Complex Process of Mesothelioma Diagnosis
ByAlex Strauss August 5, 2015March 20, 2019

Mesothelioma is not only a difficult cancer to treat. It’s also notoriously difficult to diagnose. Because there are no definitive biomarkers that can quickly reveal if a patient has this aggressive cancer, diagnosing mesothelioma typically involves a combination of different techniques. A new article in the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine highlights some of the most useful and important diagnostic tests for mesothelioma. Pathologists Qudsia Arif, MD, and Aliya Husain, MD, of the University of Chicago used peer-reviewed publications, text books, and consensus among their fellow pathologists to compile their recommendations. According to the report, among the possible diagnostic biomarkers for mesothelioma, four of the most reliable are the proteins calretinin, WT-1, cytokeratin 5/6, and podoplanin. These, say the…

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Asbestos | Australia | International | Mesothelioma | New Studies | Prognosis | Research | Updates

Protein Marker Linked to Prognosis in Peritoneal Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss July 31, 2015March 26, 2019

A cellular marker that helps tell cancer cells to replicate may be used to predict treatment outcomes in people with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. That conclusion comes from a group of researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales. The researchers tested tissue samples from 42 mesothelioma patients for the presence of Ki67, a protein associated with cell proliferation. According to the authors, Ki67 has been widely used as a prognostic indicator in other types of cancer, but has not been tested in mesothelioma. The researchers divided the tissue samples into two groups based on their level of Ki67 expression. Those with a Ki67 expression of less than 25% were put in the low category and all samples above that were…

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