Man-Made Fiber May Compound Mesothelioma Risk from Asbestos
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Man-Made Fiber May Compound Mesothelioma Risk from Asbestos

ByAlex Strauss

Workers exposed to both asbestos and another insulation material called refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) are more than 4 times as likely to develop malignant pleural mesothelioma as are workers who were only exposed to asbestos. That is the conclusion of a new study from a team of French scientists at the University of Bordeaux. Asbestos, a fibrous mineral used in insulation and building materials, has been known for decades to increase the risk of mesothelioma. RCF is a manmade aluminum-silicate-based material that is also used for insulation, particularly in high-heat industrial applications. Although some animal studies on RCF have suggested that the material might also cause cancer, a 2012 study in Inhalation Toxicology found no increase in lung cancer or…

Using Cancer Statistics to Prioritize Mesothelioma Research
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Using Cancer Statistics to Prioritize Mesothelioma Research

ByAlex Strauss

New cancer statistics from Quebec, Canada suggest that mesothelioma should be a research priority for scientists looking into work-related illnesses. Quebec was once Canada’s heaviest producer and exporter of asbestos, the number one worldwide cause of deadly malignant pleural mesothelioma. In recent years, the number of asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural plaques have been steadily rising and some Canadian health experts warn that the country is poised for a health crisis because of its close ties with the asbestos industry. But exact numbers of work-related cancer cases are not easy to find. Researchers from the Canada School of Public Health at the University of Montreal attempted to estimate the number of work-related cancer cases and…

Combination Treatment Fights Mesothelioma “Synergistically”
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Combination Treatment Fights Mesothelioma “Synergistically”

ByAlex Strauss

Cancer researchers in Italy are working on a way to use the body’s own cancer-fighting tools to help boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy for mesothelioma. They are concentrating their efforts on a protein called TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, also known as TRAIL. TRAIL is a cytokine that is produced by most normal tissue cells but causes apoptosis (programmed cell death) in tumor cells. TRAIL is one of the ways the body helps keeps cancers like mesothelioma from gaining a foothold. Recently, doctors at the University of Padua ran a test combining a form of TRAIL made from human cells with standard chemotherapy drugs to help fight malignant pleural mesothelioma. The lab-produced TRAIL, called dulanermin, was administered along with pemetrexed and carboplatin…

How Much Asbestos Can Cause Mesothelioma?
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How Much Asbestos Can Cause Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Avoid exposure to asbestos – especially if you are a smoker. That is the central message in an article by two Dutch cancer researchers who have some good news and some bad news about the link between asbestos exposure and malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pulmonologists Dr. Paul Baas and Dr. JA Burgers of AVL/NKI Cancer Center in Amsterdam analyzed a study of 58,279 Dutch construction workers from 1986 to 2007. The study, published by Offermans et al in the January 2014 issue of the Journal of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, confirmed what past research has found – that the risk of lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, and mesothelioma increased as asbestos exposure increased. “The risk of development of…

Study Finds Higher Risk with Mesothelioma EPP Surgery
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Study Finds Higher Risk with Mesothelioma EPP Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Yet another team of researchers is weighing in on the ongoing debate over the different kinds of surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma and the news is not good for patients considering the most invasive approach. The newest study involved thoracic surgeons from Stanford University and UCLA, Cardiothoracic surgeons from the University of Chicago and the University of Washington, and Biostatisticians from Duke University. Together, the researchers analyzed the outcomes of 225 mesothelioma patients from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons-General Thoracic Database who underwent either pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) or the more radical extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Pneumonectomy literally means removal of the lung. As the most invasive pleural mesothelioma surgical approach, EPP involves removing the entire pleural lining where mesothelioma starts, as well…

Alcoholism Drug Suppresses Mesothelioma Tumors in Mice
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Alcoholism Drug Suppresses Mesothelioma Tumors in Mice

ByAlex Strauss

A drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of alcoholism appears to have the potential to fight malignant pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive form of lung cancer that is often unresponsive to conventional therapies. Disulfiram (sold under the brand name Antabuse) blocks the processing of alcohol in the body by inhibiting acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. Some studies have suggested that the drug’s ability to bind to copper, a mineral often elevated in the blood serum of cancer patients, may also give it anti-tumor properties and the ability to make cancer cells more susceptible to chemotherapy. In the new mesothelioma study, a team led by cancer researchers at Detroit’s Wayne State University School of Medicine administered copper complexed disulfiram (DSF-Cu) to mice with…

Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?
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Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?

ByAlex Strauss

A new study says there is not enough evidence to support the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of pain associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland reviewed a range of past studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy by searching databases that date back as far as 1974. To be eligible to be included in their review, the study had to focus on malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy given “with the intent of improving pain”. The study also had to report doses and fractionation of the radiotherapy and how the pain responded. In all, the researchers found eight studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy that met the criteria. Two of the studies were prospective…

Micro-RNAs May Offer New Way to Fight Mesothelioma
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Micro-RNAs May Offer New Way to Fight Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists at one of the world’s top mesothelioma research centers, the Asbestos Diseases Research institute in Sydney, Australia, say that restoring the expression of certain micro RNAs in the cells of mesothelioma patients may offer a new way to fight the disease. A microRNA is a small RNA molecule which is involved in the regulation of gene expression. According to a new report in the Annals of Oncology, the Australian scientists found reduced expression of the micro RNA-15 family (miR-15/16) in the cells of mice with mesothelioma. “When malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines were compared with the normal mesothelial cell line MeT-5A, the downregulation of miR-15/16 was 2- to 10-fold,” they report. This finding is consistent with previous cancer research…

New Approach to Decrease Mesothelioma Symptom
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New Approach to Decrease Mesothelioma Symptom

ByAlex Strauss

Draining off excess lung fluid with an indwelling catheter may be a better way to deal with this mesothelioma symptom than surgery, according to a new study. Pleural effusion, a build-up of fluid between the two layers of the lining around the lungs, is a common side effect of several cancers, including malignant pleural mesothelioma. Approximately half of all patients with metastatic cancer develop pleural effusion, which can have a dramatic impact on quality of life by inhibiting a person’s ability to breathe freely. Many mesothelioma patients also experience chest pain and fatigue as a result of pleural effusion. If untreated, pleural effusion can lead to pneumonia or lung collapse. Some mesothelioma patients with pleural effusion are treated with pleurodesis,…

New Prognostic Factor in Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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New Prognostic Factor in Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of mesothelioma that attacks the membrane that lines the abdomen and surrounds internal organs. The outlook for this rare malignancy, which affects fewer than 500 Americans annually, has been improved by the treatment combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). The combination has produced 5-year overall survival rates ranging from 29% to 63%. But not all peritoneal mesothelioma patients are good candidates for CRS/HIPEC. The challenge, for clinicians, is identifying which patients are likely to benefit from the procedure (or even be cured) and which are not. In an effort to help answer that question, French researchers recently tested the prognostic value of the glucose transporter protein GLUT1 as well as…