mesothelioma patients

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    New Mesothelioma Test Available Later This Year

    ByAlex Strauss

    A mesothelioma test created and validated at Brigham and Women/s Hospital in Boston could be available to the public within the next couple of months. The test, which will be known by the brand name DecisionDx-Mesothelioma, is designed to test patients who are suspected of having mesothelioma for the expression of a variety of genes. By creating a gene profile, the test can give doctors a clearer picture of which patients with mesothelioma symptoms might actually be suffering from the disease. Friendswood, Texas-based Castle Biosciences has announced that it has acquired the intellectual property and technology rights to the test from Brigham and Women’s. Castle Biosciences specializes in molecular diagnostic tests for rare cancers like mesothelioma. Currently, the company has three proprietary…

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    T-Cells Can Predict Mesothelioma Treatment Success

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma patients whose T-cell counts bounce back quickly after a round of chemotherapy have a better chance of survival. They are also most likely to benefit from the addition of immunotherapy. That’s the conclusion of a British study looking for prognostic indicators in mesothelioma patients undergoing a combination of chemotherapy. Noting that there is increased interest in pairing chemotherapy with immunotherapy, the group was also looking for a method of determining who would benefit most from the combination. Chemotherapy is the most common first-line treatment for mesothelioma. It involves flooding the body with a drug or combination of drugs designed to destroy cancer cells. Immunotherapy involves “programming” the immune system to recognize cancer cells as foreign invaders and attack them the…

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    Implants May Help Mesothelioma Surgery Patients

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma patients who undergo surgery for their cancer may benefit from new biological implants to reconstruct their chest wall. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining that surrounds the lungs and lines the thoracic (chest) cavity. Pleurectomy and decortication is a surgical procedure designed to improve mesothelioma symptoms like shortness of breath by removing cancerous tissues surrounding the lungs, freeing the lungs up to expand more normally. During Pleurectomy and decortication, portions of the chest wall are removed and usually must be rebuilt. Often, this rebuilding is performed using synthetic materials. But a team of thoracic surgeons in the UK has just published a report on their success in using biological implants to rebuild the chest wall in patients…

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    Inhaling Mesothelioma Drug Soon Ready for Patient Trials

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma patients may eventually be inhaling their treatment medications instead of receiving them intravenously if current research in Scotland goes according to plan. Scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow are experimenting with a method for delivering chemotherapy medicine directly into the lungs where mesothelioma is triggered. Although mesothelioma is not a lung cancer, it is usually the result of inhalation or ingestion of airborne asbestos fibers.  In pleural mesothelioma, inhaled fibers lodge deep in the lung tissue, setting up a cycle of chronic irritation and inflammation that eventually affects the membrane around the lungs. As mesothelioma spreads over the pleural membrane, it can impede the lungs’ ability to expand and may eventually spread into the lungs or other organs….

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    Mesothelioma Patients Lack Psychosocial Support

    ByAlex Strauss

    Most newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients need more psychosocial support than they are getting, according to a British sociologist. Sara Arber is a professor in the University of Surrey’s School of Health and Social Care in Surrey, England.  To conduct a study on the psychological and social impact of a mesothelioma diagnosis, Arber and colleague L. Spencer conducted face-to-face interviews with 10 mesothelioma patients within three months of their diagnoses. After analyzing the data, the two concluded that many newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients feel uncertainty and a lack of control surrounding their illness, leading to what they call “emotional, physical and psychosocial” distress.  They report that mesothelioma patients they talked to tended to feel like they were hearing “all bad news” from their…

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    Cediranib Fails Phase II Mesothelioma Trial

    ByAlex Strauss

    Some disappointing news for mesothelioma patients and doctors who had high hopes for the chemotherapy drug cediranib.  The oral cancer drug, made by Astra Zeneca, failed to produce the results researchers were looking for in a phase II trial. It also caused a host of serious side effects and was “poorly tolerated” at the only dose high enough to show any clinical improvement in mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma is a rare cancer, claiming an estimated 2,500 lives in the U.S. each year. Typically caused by inhalation or ingestion of the mineral asbestos, mesothelioma spreads across the membranous linings around the lungs, heart or abdominal organs. It is usually fatal. Studies have found that patients with higher serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor…

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    Ultrasound: A Safer Way to Manage Mesothelioma?

    ByAlex Strauss

    The same technology used by obstetricians to track pregnancies and by cardiologists to find blood clots may also play a valuable role in managing mesothelioma. An Indonesian mesothelioma doctor says ultrasound technology is not only safer than radiation, but also portable, non-invasive and relatively inexpensive to use. In a recent article published in an Indonesian medical journal, Dr. C.M. Rumende of the University of Indonesia Medical School says ultrasonography of the lungs allows clinicians to diagnose some abnormalities common in mesothelioma, including the buildup of lung fluid known as pleural effusion, more rapidly than they could with other imaging modalities. “In addition to pleural effusion,” observes Dr. Rumende, “other lung disorders can be diagnosed by ultrasound such as peripheral lung tumors,…

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    Second Treatment Effective for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is some good news from the Wake Forest School of Medicine for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. In many cases, after a mesothelioma patient has been treated with one therapy, that therapy is not used again.  This means that when a treatment fails, many mesothelioma patients often run out of treatment options. But researchers at Wake Forest have confirmed that, for patients whose peritoneal mesothelioma recurs after surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a second treatment may be just as effective at prolonging survival. Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the abdomen.  It is the result of ingestion or inhalation of asbestos fibers. Cytoreductive (CRS) surgery involved a scraping away of the tumor from the peritoneum. When it is followed …

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    Pleurodesis May Impact Mesothelioma Scan Results

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma patients who undergo a procedure called talc pleurodesis (TP) for excess lung fluid may be harder to monitor with FDG-PET/CT scans afterward. Talc pleurodesis is a procedure used to manage pleura effusions, the build-up of fluid around the lungs that causes many of the most uncomfortable symptoms of malignant pleural mesothelioma. As a mesothelioma tumor spreads across the pleural lining, the body often produces fluid in response.  As this fluid fills up the pleural cavity between the mesothelial lining and the lungs it can cause pain and make it hard for the mesothelioma patient to breath. Draining the fluid and filling the space with medical-grade talc is one way to deal with the problem. But a new study suggests that…

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    Advocacy Groups Call for Global Asbestos Ban

    ByAlex Strauss

    A British organization established to support victims of mesothelioma is joining the call for a total ban on the substance that causes it. The National Asbestos Helpline is a national clearing house set up to support patients with mesothelioma and other asbestos-linked diseases and their families.  Because so many British homes and buildings were constructed when asbestos use was at its peak in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, Great Britain has one of the highest per capita rates of mesothelioma in the world.  Mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer, is caused by inhalation or ingestion of airborne asbestos fibers. In spite of the risk, asbestos is still used as an inexpensive building product and insulator around the world.  Now, as part of its support…