Repeat CRS/HIPEC Improves Survival for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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Repeat CRS/HIPEC Improves Survival for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

One of the country’s top peritoneal mesothelioma surgeons has just published a study that may be good news for patients with this aggressive malignancy. Paul Sugarbaker, MD, and colleagues at the Program in Peritoneal Surface Oncology in Washington, DC studied patients with diffuse peritoneal mesothelioma who had repeated cytoreductive surgery and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Their results indicate that patients with diffuse peritoneal mesothelioma can safely undergo these procedures more than once and may even improve their odds of survival. Cytoreductive surgery refers to a surgery designed to remove as much as possible of a mesothelioma tumor growing on the peritoneal lining that surrounds abdominal organs. Doctors have gotten good results by following the procedure with a wash of heated chemotherapy…

Genetic Variables Impact Mesothelioma Treatment Outcomes
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Genetic Variables Impact Mesothelioma Treatment Outcomes

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in Slovenia say they may have found a method for determining which mesothelioma patients are most likely to respond to chemotherapy and which may have toxic side effects. The answers may lie in subtle genetic differences called polymorphisms. Chemotherapy with pemetrexed (Alimta) and a platinum-based drug like cisplatin is the primary first-line treatment for pleural mesothelioma. However, as the authors of the new report point out, there is great inconsistency in patient response to this treatment. The goal of their new study was to determine how polymorphisms impact the way mesothelioma patients respond to pemetrexed treatment. Mesothelioma patients treated with pemetrexed as part of a randomized clinical trial were sorted according to two types of polymorphisms – those of…

New Mesothelioma Treatment Boosts Chemotherapy Response
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New Mesothelioma Treatment Boosts Chemotherapy Response

ByAlex Strauss

An important new study from one of the country’s top mesothelioma research labs has found a way to significantly boost the impact of chemotherapy on mesothelioma patients who are not eligible for surgery. Dr. Raffit Hassan and his colleagues at the National Cancer Institute have been focusing their efforts on an immunotoxin – a potent toxin inked to an antibody – to selectively target mesothelioma cells. The immunotoxin, called SS1P, is designed to target a protein called mesothelin, which is overexpressed in mesothelioma cells. While previous studies have shown some promise in SS1P treatment by itself, especially when the immune system is suppressed, the newest study tests the value of SS1P in combination with the most popular mesothelioma chemotherapy drugs,…

Fluid Drainage With Chemotherapy May Be Unneeded
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Fluid Drainage With Chemotherapy May Be Unneeded

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment with pemetrexed (Alimta) may be able to avoid one of the more uncomfortable parts of the procedure thanks to information gained from a new Danish study. Pharmacologists at the University of Copenhagen say the practice of draining so-called third-space fluid in patients undergoing pemetrexed-based chemotherapy may not be necessary. Third-space fluid is fluid that collects in body spaces not usually filled with fluid. In the case of patients with pleural mesothelioma or lung cancer, this fluid may collect in the space between the layers of the lung lining (pleura). Managing the toxicity of powerful chemotherapy drugs like pemetrexed is a delicate process. Pleural draining or evacuation is often recommended prior to a new dose of…

Women Much More Likely to Survive Mesothelioma than Men
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Women Much More Likely to Survive Mesothelioma than Men

ByAlex Strauss

A new study of more than 14,000 American mesothelioma patients finds that women are three times more likely to survive mesothelioma than men are. Researchers from the North Shore/Long Island Jewish Health System-Hofstra School of Medicine and Mount Sinai Health System in New York studied all pathologically confirmed mesothelioma cases in the national Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database between 1973 and 2009. Patients were analyzed by age, year of diagnosis, race, stage, treatments, gender and other factors. The team then used the data to assess the association between the various prognostic factors and survival. Of the 14,228 malignant pleural mesothelioma cases analyzed, 22% occurred in women. These women tended to be diagnosed at around the same cancer stage…

Mesothelioma Survival Impacted by Lack of Surgery
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Mesothelioma Survival Impacted by Lack of Surgery

ByAlex Strauss

A team of surgical oncologists say failure to treat peritoneal mesothelioma with surgery is costing too many patients their lives. Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin studied survival statistics for more than 1,500 patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, a form of mesothelioma that occurs in the abdomen. They concluded that many more of them could survive longer if they were treated with surgery. Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, the research team identified 1,591 patients diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma between 1973 and 2010. The median age of the studied patients was 74 years and most had metastatic disease, meaning that their mesothelioma had spread beyond the peritoneal membrane that lines the abdomen. Of those 1,591 peritoneal…

Needle Biopsy an Effective Alternative for Some Mesothelioma Patients
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Needle Biopsy an Effective Alternative for Some Mesothelioma Patients

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients who are not good candidates for thoracoscopy can still get a definitive diagnosis with a procedure called cutting-needle pleural biopsy. A team of Oxford-based scientists compared the two procedures to determine whether ultrasound-guided cutting needle biopsy could produce enough tissue to diagnose mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, an asbestos-linked malignancy that starts on the membrane around the lungs, can be difficult to diagnose. At the same time, because so many patients do not develop symptoms until the disease is in its later stages, rapid and accurate diagnosis is critical. Although patients suspected of having mesothelioma may undergo imaging tests, blood tests for tell-tale biomarkers, and pleural fluid analysis, tissue biopsy and examination of the cells remains the only way to obtain…

Virtual Community Can Ease Mesothelioma Stress
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Virtual Community Can Ease Mesothelioma Stress

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients and their families can reduce their stress and feel more supported by getting involved in an online community. That is the conclusion reached by researchers at in the Psychology Department at Southern Cross University in New South Wales, Australia. Writing in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, lecturer Desiree Kozlowski and her colleagues reported on the first 30 days of a peer-to-peer virtual community of people with asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma. In the introduction to their report, the team observes that people with mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive lung-related cancer, often feel socially isolated and highly stressed by their life-limiting symptoms. In addition to coping with the challenges of mesothelioma diagnosis and treatment, patients who were negligently exposed to…

Biomarker May Predict Chemotherapy Response in Mesothelioma
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Biomarker May Predict Chemotherapy Response in Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Cancer researchers in Japan say they may have found a way to help predict which mesothelioma patients are most likely to respond well to treatment with Alimta. Alimta (pemetrexed) was FDA approved in 2004 for the treatment of mesothelioma, a virulent form of lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Alimta is often administered along with the platinum-based drug cisplatin, although this first-line mesothelioma treatment combination has been shown to have only limited success. Part of the problem is that it is difficult to predict which mesothelioma patients will respond to which types of therapies. Mesothelioma treatment, therefore, often involves a process of trial and error to find the therapy that works best. Unfortunately, this approach can cost patients valuable time…

Low-Dose Gemzar: Cost Effective Alternative for Mesothelioma?
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Low-Dose Gemzar: Cost Effective Alternative for Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

A new study of an alternative form of chemotherapy for mesothelioma finds that it may be a safe, effective, and less expensive treatment option, especially for low-income patients. Gemzar (gemcitabine) is a nucleoside analog that has been found to arrest tumor growth and trigger apoptosis (cell death)in several types of cancer, including breast, bladder, pancreatic and non-small cell lung cancer. Now, researchers working on a phase II trial of Gemzar for advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma say a continuous low-level infusion of the drug may be a viable treatment option. Dr. Oscar Arrieta and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute of Mexico evaluated the outcomes of 39 patients with advanced mesothelioma treated with low-dose infusions of Gemzar and cisplatin instead of…