New Mesothelioma Test May Help in Diagnosis
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New Mesothelioma Test May Help in Diagnosis

ByAlex Strauss

Getting an accurate diagnosis is one of the biggest challenges for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.  Because mesothelioma is such an aggressive cancer, survival often hinges on getting a diagnosis and starting appropriate treatment as early as possible. Unfortunately, mesothelioma symptoms, which can include shortness of breath, cough and chest pain, mimic many other conditions, including other types of lung cancer. Now, scientists with a company called Rosetta Genomics, a developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, believe they have found a better way to distinguish mesothelioma cancer from other types of lung cancers that may also affect the pleura, or the lining around the lungs. In an online press release, Tina Edmonston, MD, Medical Director and Head of Clinical Laboratory at…

New Mesothelioma Test May Detect Disease Earlier
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New Mesothelioma Test May Detect Disease Earlier

ByAlex Strauss

Malignant mesothelioma is on the rise around the world.  As with many cancers, early detection is the key to survival and better quality of life for patients.  Now, a group of Japanese researchers is paving the way for a laboratory test that could help doctors identify the disease – and start aggressive treatment – earlier. Writing in the journal, Modern Pathology, the researchers explain how a protein called CD146 can serve as a biomarker for mesothelioma.  The protein has already been shown to be present in patients with advanced malignant melanoma, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer.  Now, for the first time, researchers have also identified its presence in the lung fluid of mesothelioma patients. The research team tested the lung fluid of…

Plumbers Still at High Risk of Mesothelioma According to Study
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Plumbers Still at High Risk of Mesothelioma According to Study

ByAlex Strauss

Plumbers are among the industrial workers most at risk for deadly mesothelioma cancer.  That’s the finding of an insurance industry study recently done in the UK. The report, prepared for Claims National, found that current or former plumbers and pipe fitters, as well as electricians, builders and auto mechanics, have a much higher incidence of the asbestos-related cancer than people working in other industries.  It’s a finding supported by CDC researchers in the U.S. who found the number of mesothelioma deaths among plumbers and pipe fitters ‘proportionately significant’ and predict the numbers could keep rising for another 40 years. Asbestos is an insulating material that was widely used in industry around the world until the 1980’s.  It was particularly prized in plumbing…

Controversy over California State Rock Raises Awareness
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Controversy over California State Rock Raises Awareness

ByAlex Strauss

People opposed to a proposal to drop serpentine as California’s official state rock are making their voices heard.  But the asbestos awareness group that helped craft the legislation says the debate is actually helping to fuel their cause. Linda Reinstein is co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), the largest independent organization dedicated to preventing asbestos-related diseases through education and legislation.  The group worked with California legislators to draft Senate Bill 624 which would strip serpentine – the host rock for the toxic mineral asbestos – of the title it has held since 1965. “This is a symbolic move meant to show support for patients and for families who have lost loved one to asbestos-related diseases,” says Reinstein.  “California…

Outdoor Recreation Could Pose Mesothelioma Risk in California
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Outdoor Recreation Could Pose Mesothelioma Risk in California

ByAlex Strauss

Outdoor enthusiasts are being warned to steer clear of the trails around abandoned gold mines in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, or risk mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. A study by The Sierra Fund (TSF) says mountain bikers, hikers and horseback riders in these areas could be in danger of serious health hazards including mesothelioma because of high levels of toxic minerals in the soil around the old mines.  The study, called The Gold Country Recreational Trails and Abandoned Mines Assessment, found many of these public lands to be contaminated with lead, arsenic and asbestos. According to Elizabeth Martin, CEO of The Sierra Fund, “More than 100 years after the end of the Gold Rush era, the environmental, cultural and health impacts of that…

Buildings, Industries and Soil Pose Mesothelioma Risk in New Jersey
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Buildings, Industries and Soil Pose Mesothelioma Risk in New Jersey

ByAlex Strauss

Removal of mesothelioma-causing asbestos is taking much longer than expected at an historic New Jersey library building where employees and patrons may have come in contact with the substance for years. Nearly a month after it was scheduled to reopen, the East Orange Public Library remains closed.  The 1914-vintage building was closed after a state health department inspection found exposed asbestos throughout the building, which could put employees and patrons at risk for deadly mesothelioma cancer.  The library was ordered to hire a professional abatement contractor to safety remove the dangerous material, but months after the job was started, there is no indication when the building will reopen. As a state with many old and historic neighborhoods, New Jersey has many…

California’s State Rock Could Cause Mesothelioma
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California’s State Rock Could Cause Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The first state to have a state rock is about to strip that rock of its title. California legislators are considering a measure to take serpentine, a greenish-gray rock which is plentiful throughout the state, off the list of state symbols.  Serpentine was designated the ‘state rock’ in 1965, before it was known that fine shards of one of the elements in it, asbestos, can causemesothelioma.  When serpentine is broken up during construction or excavation, the asbestos dust released can be a public health hazard. Asbestos was once prized for its resistance to heat and chemical degradation and was widely used in a variety of construction and shipbuilding applications.  But asbestos fibers are sharp and about 100 times narrower than…

Mesothelioma Risk from Limited Asbestos Exposure
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Mesothelioma Risk from Limited Asbestos Exposure

ByAlex Strauss

Doctors have long known that asbestos exposure in the workplace significantly increases the risk for mesothelioma, but now they’ve discovered that even workers who have had relatively low exposure to asbestos are at increased risk for this deadly cancer, according to a study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The study also suggests that the man-made fibers often used to replace asbestos in manufacturing may also be increasing workers’ mesothelioma risk. Most asbestos cases including mesothelioma have been linked to occupational asbestos exposure, and particularly from exposure to the amphibole type of asbestos. Still uncertain is the risk from man-made vitreous fibers (MMVF), which are often used as a substitute for asbestos. MMVFs are similar in structure to…

Mesothelioma Influenced by Vitamin A?
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Mesothelioma Influenced by Vitamin A?

ByAlex Strauss

Vitamin A is a very important vitamin to maintaining health. We all know it is found in foods like carrots and is important in maintaining eyesight. Now, several independent research studies over the last three decades have suggested that vitamin A could possibly have an impact on managing and preventing mesothelioma. Vitamin A has many essential functions in the human body including: sustaining vision, bone growth, reproduction, cell division, cell differentiation and helping to maintain the immune system – the body’s defense against infection. Vitamin A comes from animal sources (such as liver and whole milk) and plant sources. Retinoids which are chemically related to vitamin A have been implicated as anti-carcinogenic. For example, according to an article published in…

Mesothelioma is Increased Risk for Sheet Metal Workers
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Mesothelioma is Increased Risk for Sheet Metal Workers

ByAlex Strauss

According to a new study from the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust and Duke University, sheet metal workers are at increased risk for asbestos-related diseases. Sheet metal workers make, install, and maintain a variety of products and equipment that employ sheet metal, including: heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems, roofs, siding, skylights and rain gutters.  Sheet metal workers also work on ships, cars, and planes. Between 1986 and 2004, researchers followed 17,345 individuals with 20 or more years of experience in the sheet metal trade.  Information that was collected included smoking history, X-ray results and causes of death.  This data was than analyzed using statistical modeling.  The researchers found a “statistically significant excess mortality” for pleural cancers,mesothelioma, and asbestosis.  Increased…