mesothelioma

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    Measles May Help Fight Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new mesothelioma clinical trial being conducted at the Mayo Clinic uses an altered version of the measles virus to combat the deadly cancer. The potential of the measles virus to kill cancers like mesothelioma was noticed many years ago, before vaccination curtailed the spread of measles. In several cases, cancer patients who contracted natural measles experienced shrinkage of their tumors. Today, advanced molecular science has made it possible to insert a new gene into the measles virus that can further increase its specificity and potency against mesothelioma tumor cells. Because malignant pleural mesothelioma (the most common type) arises on the mesothelial membrane around the lungs, Mayo Clinic researchers administer the altered measles virus directly into the pleural space, between the lungs…

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    Mesothelioma Staging Guidelines May Need Revisions

    ByAlex Strauss

    The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) says the current strategy for staging malignant pleural mesothelioma may need to be modified. According to an international team of IASLC member researchers, the current system, which was established by the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG) and has been widely used, has a number of flaws. First, in part because it was based on a retrospective analysis of a small group of mesothelioma surgical patients, it has limited value in clinical staging.  In addition, the IMIG mesothelioma staging guidelines use descriptors for lymph node involvement which the IASLC researchers say may not be relevant to mesothelioma. Because of these shortcomings, the IASLC has announced that it will work with the IMIG to…

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    New Biomarker May Detect Mesothelioma Earlier

    ByAlex Strauss

    Researchers at one of the country’s top cancer centers say they have found an effective way to diagnose mesothelioma earlier. Their findings are published in the latest issue of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Fibulin-3 is a protein that is expressed in the membranes of blood vessels. A single mutation in the gene that encodes fibulin-3 has been implicated in a form of macular degeneration. Now, study author and professor of thoracic oncology Harvey Pass, MD, and his colleagues at New York University’s Langone Medical Center believe that fibulin-3 levels in the blood and pleural effusions (fluid around the lungs) can distinguish mesothelioma patients from those who have been exposed to asbestos but do not have the disease. It…

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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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    Mesothelioma Patients May Be Low in Antioxidants

    ByAlex Strauss

    New research suggests that the antioxidant vitamins found in abundance in fruits and vegetable may have a protective effect against malignant pleural mesothelioma. The news comes from a University in Turkey, where environmentally-induced mesothelioma is alarmingly common due to high erionite content in some small towns. Erionite is a naturally-occurring mineral that is structurally similar to asbestos, the primary cause of mesothelioma around the world. Erionite not only exists in the soil in these Turkish towns, but is also incorporated into hundreds of homes built from erionite-laden rocks. In an effort to evaluate whether or not certain key antioxidant vitamins might protect people against the deadly cancer, Turkish researchers enrolled 160 subjects, 42 of whom had been diagnosed with malignant pleural…

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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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    New Tools Help Pathologists Make Mesothelioma Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    Pathologists may be able to do a better job of diagnosing mesothelioma in the lab, thanks to a new set of tools released by the International Mesothelioma Interest Group. A rare malignancy, mesothelioma typically carries a poor prognosis. Part of the reason may be the difficulty of making an accurate diagnosis. Even with sophisticated testing capabilities, including immunohistochemical staining and electron microscopy, it can be difficult to distinguish mesothelioma from other types of cancer. Now, pathologists who work with the International Mesothelioma Interest Group have come up with a list of guidelines they hope will help streamline the process in laboratories around the world. Drawing on their own experiences, as well as studies in peer-reviewed publications and text books, the group came…

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    Plant Compound May Slow Mesothelioma Tumors

    ByAlex Strauss

    A natural compound found in red onions, tea and the skins of red apples may play a valuable role in the ongoing fight against malignant mesothelioma. These and other fruits, vegetables, leaves and grains contain quercetin, a flavonoid which has been found to induce apoptosis (cell death) in certain types of cancer cells. Now, for the first time, researchers in Korea have tested the compound’s effectiveness against pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos-related cancer with no known cure.  Using cultured mesothelioma cells for testing, the scientists treated the samples with 20-80 µM of quercetin.  The compound reportedly reduced the viability of the mesothelioma cells while, at the same time, increasing the rate of apoptosis. At the heart of quercetin’s apparent anti-mesothelioma effect…

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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…