Response to Talc Treatment May Predict Mesothelioma Prognosis
| | | | |

Response to Talc Treatment May Predict Mesothelioma Prognosis

ByAlex Strauss

How well a mesothelioma patient’s lungs respond to a procedure designed to eliminate excess lung fluid may be a better predictor of survival than the stage or subtype of their cancer. A group of pathologists and thoracic surgeons in Italy came to that conclusion after evaluating the cases of 172 mesothelioma patients who underwent a procedure called talc pleurodesis or talc poudrage. Talc pleurodesis is designed to prevent a buildup of lung fluid that is common in mesothelioma patients and causes unpleasant symptoms like shortness of breath. After the lung fluid (also called pleural effusion) is drained, the space between the two pleural layers is filled with talc. The talc acts as a chemical irritant causing inflammation and fibrosis which…

Mesothelioma Risk High For Sheet Metal Workers
| | | |

Mesothelioma Risk High For Sheet Metal Workers

ByAlex Strauss

A 24-year study of more than 17,000 sheet metal workers shows that even indirect exposure to asbestos can be deadly.  The study found that these workers are much more likely to die of mesothelioma or asbestosis than the general public – even though their industry does not use asbestos. Mesothelioma is an extremely rare cancer in the U.S., with about 2,500 new cases each year. But unlike other cancers, the cause of mesothelioma is well-known. People who have worked or even lived around asbestos are at much higher risk for mesothelioma. While sheet metal work itself doesn’t directly involve the use of asbestos, the profession is risky because workers typically spend their professional lives in the vicinity of asbestos-containing construction…

Mesothelioma Risk from Recycled Textiles
| | | |

Mesothelioma Risk from Recycled Textiles

ByAlex Strauss

Sorting rags for Italy’s textile industry may not sound like a dangerous occupation. But a new study in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene finds that rag sorters in the industrial province of Prato have a significantly elevated risk of malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a fast-growing and incurable cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Most people who contract mesothelioma have either worked in asbestos mines or with asbestos-containing products in the construction or shipbuilding trades. However, a hundred and seventy-two cases of mesothelioma were recorded among textile workers in Tuscany between 1988 and 2012. Almost half of them (46.5%) were residents of Prato and half of those Prato workers were rag sorters. In fact, the incidence of mesothelioma among rag sorters in…

Erionite-Induced Malignant Mesothelioma: Is it Different?
| | | | | | | |

Erionite-Induced Malignant Mesothelioma: Is it Different?

ByAlex Strauss

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is usually thought of as an asbestos-related disease. But a growing number of mesothelioma cases are being blamed on another mineral called erionite. A new report attempts to look at the clinical and prognostic differences between mesothelioma caused by erionite and mesothelioma caused by asbestos. Like asbestos, erionite occurs naturally in some soils and is made up of tiny, sharp fibers. Like asbestos, once these fibers enter the lungs through inhalation of dust, or the stomach through accidental ingestion, they can trigger a series of physiological changes in some people that eventually result in cancer. The Study In light of the rising number of erionite-induced mesothelioma cases in Europe and North America, researchers in Turkey, Ohio, and…

Evidence Supports Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma Pain Relief
| | | | |

Evidence Supports Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma Pain Relief

ByAlex Strauss

European researchers have a bit of good news for patients coping with the pain that often accompanies late stage malignant pleural mesothelioma. They have found evidence that radiotherapy, which is sometimes prescribed to treat this pain, really can make a difference. The authors, including cancer researchers from both Scotland and Norway, note that, although radiation is often used to treat mesothelioma pain, there has been little research to support the practice. As part of a multi-center phase II clinical trial on the use of radiotherapy for mesothelioma pain, patients were assessed for baseline pain and other symptoms and then treated with 20 Gy of radiation in 5 daily fractions. Mesothelioma pain was evaluated at 5 weeks and again at 12 weeks…

Energy Plant Workers Face Elevated Mesothelioma Risk
| | | |

Energy Plant Workers Face Elevated Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

Construction workers and tradespeople who have worked at any of the U.S. Department of Energy’s  nuclear sites would do well to be aware of the early warning signs of cancer, including malignant mesothelioma and asbestosis. A new report prepared by the Center for Construction Research and Training and Duke University finds that people who worked at the DOE’s nuclear sites are at higher risk of death from “all causes, all cancers” and should be actively monitored for signs of disease. The research was based on data from the Building Trades National Medical Screening Program, a program established in 1996 to provide occupational medicine screening exams to construction workers employed at DOE nuclear facilities. More than 18,800 workers were monitored from…

Occupational Risks of Carbon Nanotubes Include Mesothelioma
| | |

Occupational Risks of Carbon Nanotubes Include Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Are carbon nanotubes the next asbestos? A new report in Occupational Medicine and Health Affairs suggests that the dangers of working with these tiny particles can include lung cancer and deadly malignant pleural mesothelioma – the same diseases caused by exposure to asbestos. Carbon nanotubes are tubular cylinders of carbon atoms. These tiny manmade particles have been found to have some extraordinary properties – including strength, elasticity and conductivity –  that are useful in making products ranging from baseball bats to electronics and optical lenses. Like asbestos, carbon nanotubes are also resistant to corrosion. As a result, they’re being used with increasing frequency, which means that more workers in these fields are likely to be exposed to them. In a…

Enzyme May Help Doctors Determine Mesothelioma Prognosis
| | | | |

Enzyme May Help Doctors Determine Mesothelioma Prognosis

ByAlex Strauss

Cancer researchers in New York say they have found a new way to help determine prognosis for people with malignant pleural mesothelioma. In a report in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, a team of doctors from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center say patients whose cancer cells tested positive for an enzyme called CD10 had more aggressive mesothelioma and shorter survival times. Right now, stage (a measure of how far cancer has spread in the body) and type are the primary prognostic factors for mesothelioma. People with more advanced cancer or non-epithelioid mesothelioma tend to have poorer outcomes than people with epithelioid or early-stage mesothelioma. By offering another reliable prognostic factor, the new study suggests that CD10 can help make the process more effective, which may improve…

Report Highlights Mesothelioma Danger in Home Repairs
| | | |

Report Highlights Mesothelioma Danger in Home Repairs

ByAlex Strauss

A new article published in a Danish medical journal highlights the potential mesothelioma danger of certain kinds of do-it-yourself home repairs. Mesothelioma is a highly aggressive and currently incurable cancer of body membranes caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos dust. Most mesothelioma patients have a history of working in an occupation, such as construction, manufacturing, or asbestos mining that exposed them to the toxin over an extended period of time. But a growing number of mesothelioma cases worldwide are being reported in people who have no occupational history with asbestos. Instead, these people are being exposed to asbestos while doing repairs or renovations in their own homes. The two newly published cases from Denmark are prime examples. Occupational medicine…

A Better Way to Diagnose Mesothelioma?
| | | | |

A Better Way to Diagnose Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

New research suggests there may be a less invasive way to accurately diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma. Right now, the gold standard for mesothelioma diagnosis is examination of suspected tumor cells under a microscope. To get those cells, doctors have to perform either an open surgery called thoracotomy or a less invasive operation called thoracoscopy using smaller incisions and a camera for guidance. But biomedical engineers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh say analyzing cells in the fluid around the lungs may be just as effective. Unlike diagnostic methods that use tissue samples, the pleural fluid method requires only a thoracentesis, or removal of a sample of lung fluid using a needle. To maximize the diagnostic power of fluid samples, the…