Radiation Treatment May Worsen Lung Function in Mesothelioma
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Radiation Treatment May Worsen Lung Function in Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Princeton Radiation Oncology reached that conclusion after evaluating 24 mesothelioma surgery patients between 2009 and 2013. Study subjects underwent either lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) surgery or lung-removing extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Both procedures aim to improve mesothelioma survival by removing the diseased pleural lining and other at-risk tissues such as the diaphragm and the pericardium around the heart. Both sets of patients were then treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to the affected side of their chest in an effort to kill any mesothelioma cells left behind after surgery. IMRT delivers beams of radiation in short bursts, giving it the ability to conform radiation dose to the irregular shape of a mesothelioma tumor….

PET Supports Mesothelioma Diagnosis and Prognosis
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PET Supports Mesothelioma Diagnosis and Prognosis

ByAlex Strauss

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine imaging technique that highlights metabolic activity in the body.  PET scanning detects gamma rays emitted by a tracer that is delivered into the body via a biologically active molecule, typically FDG, a form of glucose. FDG PET is one of the imaging tests sometimes used to help diagnose and monitor mesothelioma cancer on the pleural membrane around the lungs. Now, nuclear medicine specialists in Milan say FDG PET may be even more valuable than clinicians realize for predicting outcomes – especially in mesothelioma patients who are responsive to chemotherapy. The study involved 131 mesothelioma patients, most of whom were men, with a median age of 66. Study subjects were treated for mesothelioma…

PET/CT and Mesothelioma Staging: Better Imaging Techniques are Needed
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PET/CT and Mesothelioma Staging: Better Imaging Techniques are Needed

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists with the Institute of Diagnostic and interventional Radiology at the University Hospital of Zurich have just released a new study detailing the benefits and limitations of PET/CT. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces three-dimensional pictures of functional processes in the body. When combined with computed tomography (CT), which uses x-rays and a computer to produce cross-sectional images, PET can give clinicians a more complete picture of cancer growth and stage. To determine the value of PET/CT in the staging of mesothelioma, the Swiss team analyzed the cases of 62 pleural mesothelioma patients who were undergoing chemotherapy prior to a planned surgery. Since the goal of this induction chemotherapy is to shrink tumors to…

Mesothelioma Patients Encouraged to Seek Out Clinical Trials
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Mesothelioma Patients Encouraged to Seek Out Clinical Trials

ByAlex Strauss

Two cancer experts from MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas say patients with mesothelioma should be encouraged to take part in clinical trials, not only to help themselves, but to help others who may develop the disease. In a new opinion article in Current Treatment Options in Oncology, radiation oncologist Daniel Gomez, MD, and medical oncologist Anne Tsao, MD, say the success of these trials depends on participation by mesothelioma patients.  “Advances in the field of MPM are reliant on participation in clinical trials and identifying biomarkers that are predictive for response to systemic therapies and prognostic for survival benefit,” they write. The authors detail the tri-modality therapy approach which is currently the gold standard for the…

Optimal Mesothelioma Care: Is Reimbursement Structure a Disincentive?
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Optimal Mesothelioma Care: Is Reimbursement Structure a Disincentive?

ByAlex Strauss

Impending changes in the way hospitals are reimbursed for medical treatments may help improve outcomes for some patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. That conclusion comes from a new study in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, which compared the costs with the money a hospital stands to earn from a popular mesothelioma treatment. Mesothelioma is a fast-growing and lethal cancer that occurs most often in people who worked in jobs that exposed them to asbestos. While most cases of mesothelioma occur on the pleura, the lining around the lungs, about a third of cases occur on the peritoneum, which lines the abdomen. Increasingly, the gold standard treatment for people with peritoneal mesothelioma is cytoreductive surgery (CRS) to remove as much of the…

Soil Mineral Linked to Mesothelioma Deaths in Mexico
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Soil Mineral Linked to Mesothelioma Deaths in Mexico

ByAlex Strauss

Concerns continue to grow over the health threat posed by a mineral called erionite. There is new evidence that erionite dust may be responsible for the elevated mesothelioma and lung cancer death rates in a remote Mexican village. Malignant mesothelioma is usually caused by exposure to asbestos, a naturally-occurring fibrous mineral that was once heavily used in several industries. While the lungs can typically rid themselves of other types of irritants, asbestos dust fibers are small and sharp and tend to lodge in the tissue, causing cancer years later. In recent years, a less prevalent but similarly-shaped mineral called erionite has been suspected of doing the same thing. Mesothelioma rates hundreds of times higher than average have been found in…

New Treatments Have Improved Outcomes for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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New Treatments Have Improved Outcomes for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The newest studies on peritoneal mesothelioma indicate that the outlook for people with this rare asbestos-linked cancer are better than ever. A recent article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology detailed the progress that has been made – and continues to be made – in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma in the last decade. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a type of mesothelioma that occurs on the peritoneum, the lining around the abdominal organs. It accounts for less than a third of mesothelioma cases. In the new article, surgeons with Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine and the Massey Cancer Center in Richmond report that the increasing use of cytoreductive surgery combined with a rinse of heated chemotherapy drugs has significantly improved…

Mesothelioma Survival: Treatment Response May Not Be the Best Predictor
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Mesothelioma Survival: Treatment Response May Not Be the Best Predictor

ByAlex Strauss

How long it takes for a person’s mesothelioma to start growing again after chemotherapy may be a better indicator of their survival odds than their actual treatment response. That word comes from a new study published in the European Journal of Cancer. Doctors from France, Belgium, the UK, and the Netherlands developed models showing how progression-free survival could be used for prognosis. To independently validate these models, the researchers examined patient data from 10 European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) studies of chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma. A total of 523 mesothelioma patients were included in the analysis. Researchers looked at the treatment response rate, progression-free survival at 9 and 18 weeks, and overall survival for each…

Sodium Levels Predict Mesothelioma Survival
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Sodium Levels Predict Mesothelioma Survival

ByAlex Strauss

Italian oncologists say an electrolyte imbalance called hyponatraemia could be a valuable way to predict treatment response in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. Hyponatraemia is an abnormally low level of sodium in the blood. It can be caused by a range of factors, from an underlying medical condition to drinking too much water and diluting the blood. In people with mesothelioma, hyponatraemia can also be triggered by chemotherapy. By analyzing the cases of 62 consecutive mesothelioma patients on chemotherapy, researchers with the Marche Polytechnic University in Ancona, Italy determined that those who developed hyponatraemia were less likely to have good outcomes. All patients received pemetrexed-based chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for their mesothelioma between 2003 and 2013. Twenty-nine of the mesothelioma…

IMRT for Mesothelioma: Experience Impacts Outcomes

IMRT for Mesothelioma: Experience Impacts Outcomes

ByAlex Strauss

A medical center’s level of experience with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) can have a significant impact on the outcomes of mesothelioma patients who undergo the treatment. That conclusion comes from a new study conducted by cancer experts at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. IMRT is a precision method for delivering radiation into a tumor while protecting healthy cells from overexposure. Controlled by a computerized device called a linear accelerator, IMRT delivers beams of radiation in short bursts which give it the ability to conform radiation dose to the shape of a tumor. This ability to accurately target even oddly-shaped tumors is the reason some believe IMRT…