asbestos

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    Could Iron Removal Stave Off Mesothelioma?

    ByAlex Strauss

    Scientists have long known that exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, but the jury is still out as to exactly why this happens. It is known that the shape of asbestos fibers makes them more likely to lodge deep in tissue, causing chronic irritation. But some have speculated that the high iron content of asbestos – particularly chrysotile asbestos – may also play a key role in triggering mesothelioma. A new study published in the Journal of Pathology appears to support the iron overload/mesothelioma connection.  Japanese scientists studied the effects of three commercially used types of asbestos – chrysotile, crocidolite and amosite – in laboratory rats. Of the three asbestos types, chrysotile brought on mesothelioma the fastest and iron overload…

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    Asbestosis vs. Mesothelioma: Early Exposure May Make the Difference

    ByAlex Strauss

    British researchers studying occupational deaths in England and Wales may have found a way to explain why some people exposed to asbestos develop asbestosis while others developmesothelioma. Although both diseases are caused primarily by occupational exposure to asbestos, the new study published in a British medical journal suggests that heavier exposure earlier in life may be more likely to cause asbestosis than mesothelioma. The researchers based their results on an exhaustive study of 33,751 mesothelioma deaths and 5396 asbestosis deaths. Death rates were plotted by age group. Because mesothelioma can take decades to develop, it was not surprising that death rates for both diseases were much higher among the oldest birth cohorts. But what was a surprise is that the…

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    Australian Registry Releases First Mesothelioma Report

    ByAlex Strauss

    The first report using data from the newly-established Australian Mesothelioma Registry has been released, and the new is not good – especially for the country’s blue collar workers. According to the report from Safe Work Australia, a health and safety advocacy group for the country’s building industry, the Australian Mesothelioma Registry recorded 612 new cases of mesotheliomain 2011. The new national registry became operational in 2011 with a goal of recording and tracking all new mesothelioma cases. The purpose of the registry is to help spot trends, provide research data, etc. Six hundred and twelve new cases in 2011 equates to a rate of 2.7 mesothelioma cases per 100,000 people. However, Safe Work Australia cautions that the number is likely to…

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    Mesothelioma Risk High if Raised Near Asbestos

    ByAlex Strauss

    There’s more evidence that exposure to asbestos early in life increases the risk of mesothelioma and a host of other cancers. A team of Australian researchers have released the results of a study of more than 2,400 adults who lived in an asbestos mining town during their childhoods (under the age of 15). The study participants all lived in a town where crocidolite, also known as blue asbestos, was present. Crocidolite is the most common type of asbestos found in Australia. Among the 2,460 people evaluated, there were 217 (93 female) incident cancers and 218 (70 female) deaths. Compared to other Australians women, the women who had lived around asbestos as children were more likely to have mesothelioma, ovarian, and brain cancers….

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    Europe Launches First Mesothelioma Tissue Bank

    ByAlex Strauss

    A hospital in Cambridge, England has opened Europe’s first dedicated mesothelioma tissue bank, an important step forward for doctors and researchers working to develop a treatment for this aggressive cancer. Although rare at 2,300 cases annually in the UK, mesothelioma is a serious and growing problem in that country, which now has the world’s highest per capita mesothelioma mortality rate. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with no known cure. It is caused by exposure to asbestos. The ‘Mesobank UK’ tissue bank recently launched at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge (a part of Cambridge University Health Partners) will provide vital tissue samples and anonymous, detailed clinical information which can be used to conduct research studies. In a hospital press release, Dr. Robert Rintoul, who…

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    Fighting Mesothelioma: Canada Lose a Battle, U.S. Gears for Another

    ByAlex Strauss

    Canadian mesothelioma advocates have lost a major battle in their fight against asbestos, while their American counterparts gear up for another battle of their own in Washington. Despite months of protests by health organizations, mesothelioma activists, including the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Medical Association, the Quebec government has agreed to extend a loan that will reopen Canada’s largest asbestos mine. The $58 million dollar loan has been on the table since the Jeffrey Mine in the town of Asbestos closed last year due to financial problems, laying off some 500 workers. The loan had been contingent on raising seed money from investors. The mine’s president estimates that the loan will keep the mine open for at least another 20 years. While…

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    Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma Shows Promise

    ByAlex Strauss

    Despite the continuing efforts of researchers around the world, there is currently no standardized cure for mesothelioma. The asbestos-linked cancer is fast-growing and often resistant to conventional therapies. But a growing number of studies have pointed to the value of unconventional treatments like immunotherapy for mesothelioma. Immunotherapy refers to any treatment protocol which aims to harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells.  In a recent article in The Lancet Oncology, two National Cancer Institute researchers summarized some of the most promising immunotherapy approaches now being investigated for mesothelioma: In dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, dendritic cells are harvested from the patient. Outside the body, these cells are stimulated to activate a cytotoxic response against cancer cells.  When they are…

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    Maryland Asbestos Law: Beginning of a Trend?

    ByAlex Strauss

    The state of Maryland is cracking down on asbestos removal companies that put their workers and the public at risk for mesothelioma by cutting corners. State lawmakers have raised the fine from $5,000 to $25,000 for companies that do not follow government guidelines for safe handling of asbestos. Asbestos is a toxic mineral that has been used in decades in insulation and thousands of other products.  By the time its link to mesothelioma was discovered, it was already too late for many workers and consumers who had inadvertently inhaled or ingested asbestos fibers and triggered the physiological changes that would lead to mesothelioma or other asbestos related diseases. Even second-hand exposure, such as coming into contact with asbestos-covered clothing, can raise…

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    Landlord’s Action Puts Tenants at Mesothelioma Risk

    ByAlex Strauss

    Property owners who want to remove asbestos are being urged to heed a lesson learned the hard way by a Massachusetts landlord last week. The state’s Attorney General has ruled that a property owner in Springfield, Massachusetts put her tenants, and possibly their neighbors, at risk for asbestos caused diseases like mesotheliomacancer by failing to follow state regulations regarding asbestos removal. Asbestos is the primary cause of mesothelioma, a rare malignancy of the mesothelial membrane that is often fatal. It was long used in the U.S. as a building material, and can still be found in the roofs, floors, walls and siding of tens of thousands of older homes and buildings. Asbestos often disintegrates as it ages, prompting many property owners…

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    Unions Call for Asbestos-Free Australia

    ByAlex Strauss

    The head of an Australian Consortium of Trade Unions (ACTU) is calling on the government to protect its citizens against mesothelioma by ridding the country of asbestos by 2030. Ged Kearney is president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which represents construction unions and made the call on the ACTU website. Because asbestos was mined in Australia and in Australian buildings and cement from the 1950’s to the 1970’s, people who work in mining, construction and ship building trades are at higher risk for asbestos-linked diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. According to the ACTU, Australia had the highest per capita use of asbestos in the world from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. The Australian government banned the use of asbestos…