Lymphoma Drug May Fight Mesothelioma, Too
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Lymphoma Drug May Fight Mesothelioma, Too

ByAlex Strauss

A drug granted accelerated FDA approval for the treatment of lymphomas appears to kill some types mesothelioma cells, too. Cancer researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Case Medical Center have just released some encouraging findings on the drug called brentuximab vedotin. Sold under the brand name Adcetris, brentuximab vedotin targets CD30, a protein that acts as a regulator of programmed cell death (apoptosis) by interacting with smaller proteins called cytokines. Certain cancers, including Hodgkin’s disease and anaplastic large cell lymphoma, have been found to overexpress CD30, making it easier for tumors to grow. Based on the success of brentuximab vedotin in lymphoma trials, and given the relatively low success rate of most standard mesothelioma treatments, the team elected to test the…

Italian Report Details “Global Mesothelioma Epidemic”
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Italian Report Details “Global Mesothelioma Epidemic”

ByAlex Strauss

Two Italian researchers say mesothelioma has reached epidemic proportions in some parts of the world and does not appear to be slowing down any time soon. In a new report in the Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Claudio and Tommaso Bianchi of the Center for the Study of Environmental Cancer in Monfalcone, Italy analyzed data from cancer registries around the world. They supplemented their raw data with information they got from mesothelioma researchers in other countries. What they found was a disturbing upward trend in mesothelioma incidence in several European countries, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. According to the Bianchis, the UK, The Netherlands, Malta and Belgium reported the highest number of mesothelioma cases in…

Mesothelioma Chemotherapy: Can Supplements Make it Safer?
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Mesothelioma Chemotherapy: Can Supplements Make it Safer?

ByAlex Strauss

Vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements are often given to mesothelioma patients who are on chemotherapy in an effort to ward off neutropenia, a dangerous drop in white blood cells that can leave patients vulnerable to infection. Neutropenia has been linked to elevated levels of an amino acid called homocysteine, and pemetrexed can raise homocysteine. While some studies have found that supplementation makes chemotherapy less toxic, a team of British doctors found the supplements had little impact on a group of mesothelioma patients who were not on pemetrexed. Scientists at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, UK randomly assigned 83 patients with advanced lung cancer or malignant mesothelioma to receive platinum-based chemotherapy with or without B12 and folic acid supplementation. They were looking…

Experimental Drug May Offer “Brilliant Hope” for Mesothelioma Treatment
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Experimental Drug May Offer “Brilliant Hope” for Mesothelioma Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

HUHS1015 is a newly-synthesized analogue (chemically similar compound) of the blood pressure drug naftopidil. In the U.S., naftopidil is sold under the brand name Flivas and is also used to treat certain prostate conditions and Raynaud’s disease. In 2014, another Japanese research team published their findings on the anticancer properties of naftopidil, which appears to increase the expression of certain microRNAs associated with programmed cell death (apoptosis). In their new report on HUHS1015, scientists with the Hyogo College of Medicine and the Hyogo University of Health Sciences say the drug not only induced apoptosis in mesothelioma cells as well as naftopidil, but it also triggered necrosis, the premature death of cancer cells. According to author Tomoyuki Nishizaki and colleagues, HUHS1015…

Mesothelioma Chemotherapy Side-Effect Mimics Scleroderma, Infection
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Mesothelioma Chemotherapy Side-Effect Mimics Scleroderma, Infection

ByAlex Strauss

The antifolate pemetrexed (Alimta) is the first and is only drug approved by the FDA specifically to treat malignant mesothelioma, the aggressive cancer most closely associated with asbestos exposure.  A combination of pemetrexed and a platinum-based drug like cisplatin or carboplatin is the first-line treatment for most mesothelioma patients. But, like every drug, pemetrexed carries the potential for side effects. Researchers at Perigueux Hospital in Perigueux, France have just published a paper warning of a serious but little-known skin-related side effect of pemetrexed that may be unrecognized by mesothelioma patients and doctors. The report, published in a French dermatology journal, details the cases of two cancer patients on pemetrexed who developed a serious skin problem with symptoms resembling the connective…

Induction Therapies Improve Mesothelioma Surgery Outcomes
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Induction Therapies Improve Mesothelioma Surgery Outcomes

ByAlex Strauss

An induction therapy is the first in a series of therapeutic measures, which, in the case of mesothelioma, may include chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, immunotherapy or other types of experimental treatments.  Because mesothelioma is so treatment-resistant, most patients require a combination of therapies to see results, an approach that clinicians refer to as “multi-modality.” Dr. Laura Donahoe and her colleagues at Toronto Mesothelioma Research Program recently published their summary of novel induction therapies being test for pleural mesothelioma, including a new protocol that they have developed for radiotherapy prior to mesothelioma surgery. The protocol consists of accelerated hemithoracic (one side of the chest) radiation followed by lung-removing extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery. “The rationale behind this protocol is to maximize both the…

Construction Workers and Mesothelioma: Is Protection Really Possible?
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Construction Workers and Mesothelioma: Is Protection Really Possible?

ByAlex Strauss

The study, conducted by researchers in the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umea University, focused on male Swedish construction workers who had participated in health examinations between 1971 and 1993. Among the 367,568 workers included in the analysis, there were a total of 419 cases of mesothelioma occurring between 1972 and 2009. As expected, the incidence of mesothelioma was high among those who worked with some form of asbestos-containing insulation, including plumbers.  But, although these groups of workers had higher rates of mesothelioma than the general public, they accounted for only 21% of the mesothelioma cases in the study. There were even higher numbers of mesothelioma cases among concrete workers and wood workers. Other occupational group with…

Avoid Mesothelioma Risk When Storing Holiday Decorations
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Avoid Mesothelioma Risk When Storing Holiday Decorations

ByAlex Strauss

But even people who have long since thrown away their asbestos holiday décor could face a mesothelioma risk in their own attics when they access or store their decorations. That is because millions of American homes still contain Zonolite insulation, a brand of vermiculite insulation known to contain fibers of asbestos. Although asbestos-containing insulation is not believed to pose a mesothelioma risk when it is undisturbed, moving boxes around or stepping on the old insulation in an attic can create small clouds of deadly dust. This dust can then be transported into the living areas on the outside of boxes or even on the clothing of family members who went into the attic. Accidently inhaling or ingesting the dust, especially if…

Ingredient in Vinegar Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Minutes
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Ingredient in Vinegar Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Minutes

ByAlex Strauss

There is new evidence that the primary ingredient in vinegar might eventually be used to help fight deadly malignant mesothelioma. Acetic acid is the colorless organic compound that gives vinegar its pungent smell and distinctive sour taste. It makes up 3 to 5% of vinegar. (The remaining 95-97% is water) In its pure form, acetic acid is used in the production of cellulose acetate for photographic film and polyvinyl acetate for wood glue, as well as some synthetic fibers and fabrics. It is also used as a food additive to regulate the acidity of certain foods and condiments.   Acetic acid was added into the cell cultures at different concentrations and for different lengths of time. The researchers then analyzed…

Multi-Center Study Reveals “Genomic Basis” of Mesothelioma
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Multi-Center Study Reveals “Genomic Basis” of Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Doctors with the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, and the Departments of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Genome Technology at New York’s Langone Medical Center, have identified four specific genes they believe are directly linked to mesothelioma development. Scientists have long known that asbestos in the tissue can trigger genetic mutations that lead to mesothelioma. But, while past studies have focused on small sets of genes and have provided a limited view of these mutations, this new study is the first to analyze the entire gene for all possible genetic alterations. The new study involved whole exome sequencing – or a complete analysis of the DNA – on 22 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. “Integrative analysis…