Hope and Resilience: A Case of Mesothelioma Long-Term Survival
| |

Hope and Resilience: A Case of Mesothelioma Long-Term Survival

ByHolly Zink

A new study highlights how important early diagnosis and effective treatment are to long-term survival. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a type of cancer caused by asbestos. It develops in the abdominal cavity. This cancer occurs in less than 1,000 people in the United States every year. The Importance of Early Detection Symptoms of mesothelioma may take decades after asbestos exposure to appear in the affected person. Most of the common symptoms occur around the abdomen, like pain and swelling. Other symptoms could be night sweats and fever. To diagnose mesothelioma, doctors will usually use a combination of scans and biopsies. Treatment for mesothelioma can include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. A Japanese Case Study on Long-Term Survival In this case, a…

Finding Patterns in Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma
|

Finding Patterns in Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Researchers from the United States looked at malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) data over eighteen years for patterns in incidence and survival. They found that the incidence of MPM cases was steady while survival rates have increased. More cancer-directed surgeries and better identification of cell types in MPM patients may be behind the improved survival rates. Second Most Common Site MPM is an aggressive disease caused by asbestos. The peritoneum is the space in your abdomen that contains the intestines, the stomach, and the liver. The abdomen (peritoneum) is the second most common site of mesothelioma after the pleural area (lungs and chest). Most doctors believe MPM is caused by the ingestion of asbestos fibers. Microscopic asbestos fibers become embedded in…

National Institutes of Health Reports on Advances in Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma
| | |

National Institutes of Health Reports on Advances in Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

A new article from the National Institutes of Health gives the latest advances in mesothelioma. CRS-HIPEC has offered improved survival for surgical candidates. But outcomes for inoperable malignant peritoneal mesothelioma remain poor. Advancements in technology have provided new treatment approaches. The NIH reports new clinical trials are arising and are imperative. The Numbers Behind Peritoneal Mesothelioma Peritoneal mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. It is caused by the ingestion of asbestos fibers. Those microscopic asbestos fibers become embedded in the abdomen (peritoneum). After 20 to 50 years, these fibers can cause inflammation and mutations in the healthy mesothelial cells. These mutations can cause these cells to become cancerous thus, forming tumors in the peritoneum. Patients diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma…

Protein Marker Linked to Prognosis in Peritoneal Mesothelioma
| | | | | | |

Protein Marker Linked to Prognosis in Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

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…

Tracking Mesothelioma with FDG-PET
| |

Tracking Mesothelioma with FDG-PET

ByAlex Strauss

The imaging method called positron emission tomography (PET) using the radioactive tracer molecule 18F-FDG is a valuable way to both diagnose and track the progression of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Nuclear medicine researchers at a Hospital in Barcelona, Spain reviewed the diagnostic and treatment records of 60 people with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, a form of mesothelioma that spreads on the membrane lining the walls of the abdomen. The study subjects included 34 women and 26 men with a mean age of 53. All the patients in the study had had multiple 18-F-FDG-PET scans to diagnose or track their cancer. Eleven of the studied patients had an FDG-PET scan prior to receiving treatment. In all cases, the scans showed characteristic mesothelioma disease…

New Serum Marker Could Improve Mesothelioma Diagnosis
|

New Serum Marker Could Improve Mesothelioma Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

Japanese researchers believe they have found a way to diagnose a rare form of mesothelioma earlier using a simple blood test. Diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM), which represents about a fourth of all mesothelioma cases, is an aggressive malignancy that spreads across the lining of the abdomen. In most cases, DMPM is lethal within a year. The standard treatment for diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is cytoreductive surgery to remove as much of the mesothelioma as possible, followed by intraperitoneal chemotherapy to destroy residual cancer cells. In some studies, this approach has resulted in 5-year survival rates of 30 to 60 percent. However, it is most successful when it is performed early, while the primary mesothelioma tumor is more easily removed. Like all forms of…

Estrogen May Impact Mesothelioma Prognosis
| |

Estrogen May Impact Mesothelioma Prognosis

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in New South Wales, Australia may have found one of the reasons for survival differences in men and women with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. The key may be in their hormones. The sex hormone estradiol is produced by the ovaries and the adrenal gland in women and is an active metabolic product of testosterone (though in much lower levels) in men. The most important form of estrogen in the body, estradiol has been shown to be involved in cellular proliferation of a number of cancers and acts mainly through estrogen receptors. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer than spreads across the thin membrane that lines the wall of the abdomen. Using immunohistochemical testing, the Australian team measured estrogen receptors in 42 patients…