Faulty DNA Repair Genes May Raise Mesothelioma Risk
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Faulty DNA Repair Genes May Raise Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Not everyone who is exposed to asbestos has the same risk of developing mesothelioma.  Now, new research supports the idea that some people’s genetic inability to repair DNA damage at the cellular level may raise their risk of mesothelioma. When asbestos dust is inhaled, tiny fibers can lodge in the lungs and stay there for decades, causing irritation and inflammation that have been linked to a range of illnesses, including asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma. But scientists have not been able to come up with a specific genetic explanation for why different people exposed to the same amount of asbestos dust do not contract these diseases at the same rate. Now, a group of Italian researchers believe they may have found…

Surgery, Tumor Grade Have High Impact on Mesothelioma Survival
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Surgery, Tumor Grade Have High Impact on Mesothelioma Survival

ByAlex Strauss

A population based analysis of people with malignant pleural mesothelioma suggests that tumor grade and surgery have the greatest impact on overall survival. The study conducted by researchers in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Rochester in New York analyzed the medical records of 9,701 mesothelioma patients from 1973 to 2006.   Their goal was to examine the variables that affect the overall survival in people with mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Of the 9,701 patients followed, 55 percent were still alive six months after diagnosis.  Thirty-three percent survived for a year and another 5 percent were still living five years after their mesothelioma diagnosis.  Younger patients, women, those with the most common (epithelioid) type of…

Mesothelioma Patients May Benefit from Second Line Chemotherapy
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Mesothelioma Patients May Benefit from Second Line Chemotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

Multiple rounds of chemotherapy, administered several months apart, might do more to help slow the progression of malignant pleural mesothelioma than a single round of chemotherapy, according to a new study. Mesothelioma, also known as ‘asbestos cancer’ attacks the membrane that surrounds the lungs and other organs. Patients with pleural mesothelioma gradually lose breathing capacity as the pleural membrane stiffens and fluid buildup inhibits the ability of the lungs to expand. Most patients diagnosed with the disease will be treated with chemotherapy as part of a multi-modality treatment approach. Cisplatin and pemetrexed (Alimta) are the most commonly used chemo drugs used in the U.S. to treat mesothelioma. But a recent French study suggests that mesothelioma patients may benefit from a…

New Mesothelioma Test May Help in Diagnosis
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New Mesothelioma Test May Help in Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

Getting an accurate diagnosis is one of the biggest challenges for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.  Because mesothelioma is such an aggressive cancer, survival often hinges on getting a diagnosis and starting appropriate treatment as early as possible. Unfortunately, mesothelioma symptoms, which can include shortness of breath, cough and chest pain, mimic many other conditions, including other types of lung cancer. Now, scientists with a company called Rosetta Genomics, a developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, believe they have found a better way to distinguish mesothelioma cancer from other types of lung cancers that may also affect the pleura, or the lining around the lungs. In an online press release, Tina Edmonston, MD, Medical Director and Head of Clinical Laboratory at…

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Gene Expression May Predict Survival
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Peritoneal Mesothelioma Gene Expression May Predict Survival

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists in Baltimore believe they may have found a way to predict – and eventually improve – survival in people with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM). Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the membranes that line the abdominal cavity.  Like other forms of mesothelioma, it is caused by exposure to fibers of the mineral asbestos.  While it is almost always fatal, people with peritoneal mesothelioma tend to exhibit very different responses to the disease.  Writing in the journal Cancer, the Maryland researchers note, “There is marked variability in its clinical behavior.  Some patients die rapidly, and others survive for many years.” The researchers set out to determine reasons for this variability and believe the answer may lie in signaling pathways that…

Mesothelioma Survival is Higher with Radical Lung-Sparing Surgery
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Mesothelioma Survival is Higher with Radical Lung-Sparing Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

Open radical lung-preserving surgery appears to offer a significant survival advantage over non-radical, palliative surgery in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. That is the finding of a new study published in the European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Pleural mesothelioma is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, which irritate the delicate lung tissue, leading to chronic inflammation and, sometimes, malignancy. Lung-preserving (or debulking) surgery for mesothelioma falls into two categories: radical, an invasive procedure during which affected lung tissue is removed, and non-radical, which is aimed at releasing the contracture in the mesothelium surrounding the lungs to allow for more comfortable breathing. Researchers from Nottingham, England compared the outcomes of 13 mesothelioma patients who had had the more invasive radical decortication with…

New Mesothelioma Study Results
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New Mesothelioma Study Results

ByAlex Strauss

Between August 2001 and July 2002, a total of 42 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) were enrolled in a Phase I study that involved extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and intraoperative hyperthermic cisplatin (IOHC). IOHC is heated cisplatin that is delivered into the cavity created during surgery when the mesothelioma and associated organs are removed. Intravenous administration of the drug amifostine was also used to try to ameliorate the cisplatin-induced renal toxicity. During thoracotomy, 13 patients were found to have unresectable disease and 29 patients had their MPM resected to smaller than 1 centimeter. Of the latter group, there were 22 men and 7 women patients, with a median age of 57 years. Here are the results of the study: Overall…

Mesothelioma and the Immune System
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Mesothelioma and the Immune System

ByAlex Strauss

The presence of an immune cell is associated with better prognosis for patients undergoing extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma is the conclusion of a recent article published in the Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery.1 Canadian researchers tested mesothelioma samples removed from 32 patients (28 men and 4 women). The patients ranged in age from 21 to 74 (median age was 59). The researchers were looking for the numbers of specific types of immune cells. They then compared this data to the survival of the patients to see if these cell counts had any relationship with survival. They found that one specific type of immune cell called CD8+ was associated with better prognosis. The study found that higher levels of…