Auto Mechanics Unaware of Mesothelioma Risk
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Auto Mechanics Unaware of Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Thousands of the nation’s auto mechanics may be unaware that they could be at a higher than normal risk for mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure. Asbestos has been used in car manufacturing for many years because of its high heat resistance and strength.  Most commonly found in brake drums and clutches, asbestos has also been used to line the underside of car hoods and in a variety of other engine parts and gaskets. Inhalation of asbestos fibers has been shown to cause a range of health problems of which pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the lungs, and peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining around the abdomen, are the most serious. As part of a frequently-cited 4-month study conducted by…

Immune System May Help Fight Mesothelioma
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Immune System May Help Fight Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Proteins and toxins produced by the body’s own immune system could prove to be powerful weapons in the fight against malignant mesothelioma. Manipulating the immune system to fight cancer is known as immunotherapy. One type of immunotherapy is utilizing natural immunotoxins, or cell killers, produced by the white blood cells to attack tumors. Preliminary data shows that a protein produced by these cells called interleukin-4 or IL-4, may have potent cancer-fighting properties. Researchers with the Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute in California are planning studies to test the toxin’s value as a way to combat mesothelioma. Their first challenge will be to produce enough IL-4 to conduct tests. When enough of the immunotoxin can be synthesized according to FDA…

Legal Settlements Highlight Mesothelioma Risk
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Legal Settlements Highlight Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Recent large legal settlements in the Northeast highlight the continuing legacy of mesothelioma and asbestos exposure for U.S. industrial workers. Courts in New York and New Jersey have awarded more than $8 million dollars in recent weeks to workers who contracted mesothelioma from working around asbestos. A naturally occurring mineral once mined by the ton, asbestos can become deadly when inhaled or ingested.  Its tiny rock-like fibers lodge in the lungs or other organs, triggering inflammation that can lead to asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma over time.  Mesothelioma can take 20 to 50 years to develop and is very difficult to cure. Asbestos was used in many products including the roofs and wallboard of houses, oven mitts used in kitchens, the boiler…

Mesothelioma Causes Turkish Village To Be Evacuated
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Mesothelioma Causes Turkish Village To Be Evacuated

ByAlex Strauss

The Associated Press is reporting that an epidemic of mesothelioma cases is forcing the evacuation of a small Turkish village. Turkey has long been a favorite setting for researchers around the world studying mesothelioma.  A prevalence of a mineral in the soil called erionite appears to dramatically increase the risk that some residents will get the cancer most closely associated with asbestos exposure. According to the AP report, the town of Tuzkoy has a rate of mesothelioma that is 600 to 800 times higher than it is elsewhere in the world.  About 48 percent of deaths in that town, as well as in the nearby villages of Sarihidir and Karain, are from mesothelioma. Tuzkoy was declared a hazardous zone in 2004 and…

Mesothelioma Study Could Lead to Drug for Prevention
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Mesothelioma Study Could Lead to Drug for Prevention

ByAlex Strauss

Asbestos exposure is the biggest risk factor for the development of malignant mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer that usually carries a poor prognosis.  The numbers of mesothelioma patients is rising as more people pay the price for years of asbestos exposure.  While researchers around the world search for more effective treatments, a group of scientists in Italy have discovered information that may eventually be used not only to treat but to prevent mesothelioma in high risk patients. Researchers in the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at the University of Ferrara are studying the presence of adenosine receptors (ARs) in the pleura, or lung lining, of patients with and without malignant mesothelioma.   Adenosine receptors are involved in processes such as…

IMRT Multimodality Therapy for Mesothelioma Appears Safe
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IMRT Multimodality Therapy for Mesothelioma Appears Safe

ByAlex Strauss

Pleural mesothelioma, a malignancy of the lung lining caused by breathing asbestos, is notoriously difficult to treat. While they can improve quality of life, traditional cancer therapies, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgical intervention have not been shown to improve survival rates in most mesothelioma patients beyond a few months. Researchers around the world are experimenting with advanced treatment options that may give mesothelioma patients new hope. A new study on Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) as part of a multi-modality treatment protocol appears to show improved safety over earlier studies that incorporated the same technology. IMRT is an advanced method of radiotherapy that uses a linear accelerator to deliver precise high doses of radiation directly into a tumor. One of…

Controversy over California State Rock Raises Awareness
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Controversy over California State Rock Raises Awareness

ByAlex Strauss

People opposed to a proposal to drop serpentine as California’s official state rock are making their voices heard.  But the asbestos awareness group that helped craft the legislation says the debate is actually helping to fuel their cause. Linda Reinstein is co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest independent organization dedicated to preventing asbestos-related diseases through education and legislation.  The group worked with California legislators to draft Senate Bill 624 which would strip serpentine – the host rock for the toxic mineral asbestos – of the title it has held since 1965. “This is a symbolic move meant to show support for patients and for families who have lost loved one to asbestos-related diseases,” says Reinstein.  “California…

Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

ByAlex Strauss

Once prized as an insulator and building material, the mineral asbestos is now recognized by health experts around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), as a potent carcinogen that can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases.  While many industrialized nations now ban or seriously restrict its use, India continues to import and use asbestos at a rate that is alarming the world medical community. A recent article published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, predicts that with “India’s surging consumption of asbestos, the industry’s hefty political and economic clout, and the country’s poor record of worker protection….a sizeable burden of asbestos-related disease is inevitable” leading to health consequences that “will be felt into the next century.”  These health…

Mesothelioma Patients Stigmatized Study Says
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Mesothelioma Patients Stigmatized Study Says

ByAlex Strauss

Patients with mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, may bear the brunt of public prejudice against lung cancer, according to a new study. Although mesothelioma is a rare cancer, attacking just 2,000 to 3,000 Americans each year, the most common form, which occurs in the linings around the lungs, is classified as lung cancer.  According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancers of all kinds are the most prevalent cancer killer worldwide, claiming more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.  Asbestos exposure has also been shown to cause lung cancers other than mesothelioma, and may account for many more deaths. But a new study commissioned by the Global Lung Cancer Coalition (GLCC) says, despite…

Buildings, Industries and Soil Pose Mesothelioma Risk in New Jersey
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Buildings, Industries and Soil Pose Mesothelioma Risk in New Jersey

ByAlex Strauss

Removal of mesothelioma-causing asbestos is taking much longer than expected at an historic New Jersey library building where employees and patrons may have come in contact with the substance for years. Nearly a month after it was scheduled to reopen, the East Orange Public Library remains closed.  The 1914-vintage building was closed after a state health department inspection found exposed asbestos throughout the building, which could put employees and patrons at risk for deadly mesothelioma cancer.  The library was ordered to hire a professional abatement contractor to safety remove the dangerous material, but months after the job was started, there is no indication when the building will reopen. As a state with many old and historic neighborhoods, New Jersey has many…