Mesothelioma Can Strike Younger Patients Without Known Risks
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Mesothelioma Can Strike Younger Patients Without Known Risks

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma is a cancer that typically affects middle-aged or older men who were exposed to asbestos on the job. But even younger patients with no known history of asbestos exposure may develop mesothelioma, and should be evaluated if they have signs of the disease, according to a recent review in the West Virginia Medical Journal. Even when mesothelioma is properly diagnosed, treatment options remain limited and the prognosis is usually grim, the authors say. The review presented the case of a 38-year-old, otherwise healthy woman who developed shortness of breath and chest pain, which worsened over time. Pathology tests revealed cancerous cells that are typical of mesothelioma, even though the woman had no apparent risks for the disease. “The family denied…

Asbestos Workers Face Increased Risk of Cancer Death
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Asbestos Workers Face Increased Risk of Cancer Death

ByAlex Strauss

Workers who have been exposed to asbestos on the job are more likely to die from lung cancers,mesothelioma, and asbestosis, as well as from stomach cancer and stroke, according to one of the longest-running studies of British asbestos workers, published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. On the positive side, more stringent asbestos regulations appear to be reducing the risk of asbestos-related diseases among younger workers. Since the early part of the 20th century, asbestos-related diseases have been the leading cause of job-related deaths in Great Britain, and the number of deaths has been on the rise. Although Britain has enacted stricter laws governing the use of industrial asbestos, exposed workers will likely continue to develop deadly cancers in the years…

Mesothelioma Risk in U.K.
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Mesothelioma Risk in U.K.

ByAlex Strauss

British people who’ve worked in high-risk jobs like carpentry and plumbing, especially before age 30, are at greatest risk of developing the deadly lung cancer,mesothelioma, according to a recent study in the British Journal of Cancer. Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure. Although regulations have reduced the amount of asbestos in both British and American buildings since the 1970s, the mesothelioma death rate in Britain has continued to climb among people over age 60. For the first time, researchers there decided to examine the connection between lifetime asbestos exposure in the workplace and home, and mesothelioma risk. This study included 622 mesothelioma patients in England, Wales, and Scotland who were born after 1925, as well as a group of 1,420…

Mesothelioma and the Spread of Asbestos
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Mesothelioma and the Spread of Asbestos

ByAlex Strauss

Though it has been shut down for more than a decade, a mine in Libby, Montana is still raising health concerns for asbestos-contaminated ore it once shipped to hundreds of sites across the country. A report published in the June issue of Inhalation Toxicology finds that people living in several of the communities surrounding the ore processing sites may have a higher incidence of mesothelioma and other cancers. From the time it opened in the early1920s, the Libby mine processed vermiculite ore. Though it was useful for insulation, fireproofing materials, and lawn and garden products, the mineral contained a type of asbestos, which has been linked to an increased risk of various lung disorders, including asbestosis (scarring of lung tissue), mesothelioma, and lung cancer….

Mesothelioma and Children
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Mesothelioma and Children

ByAlex Strauss

When people think of mesothelioma, they typically picture an older adult who has been exposed to asbestos. Yet this disease can, in rare cases, also strike children. Because the prognosis is poor, doctors need to carefully diagnose mesothelioma in their youngest patients. Doctors don’t know what causes mesothelioma in children. Although a high number of adults with the disease have a history of asbestos exposure, this isn’t the case in children. “The latent period of asbestos exposure in mesothelioma patients can be many years,” explains Cesar A. Moran, MD, professor of Pathology in the Department of Pathology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. “Children have not lived long enough to be in that ballpark.” Dr. Moran and his colleagues recently…

Mesothelioma, Asbestos, and Survival
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Mesothelioma, Asbestos, and Survival

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma is a cancer directly linked to asbestos exposure. Now researchers are discovering that the extent of that exposure can significantly affect how long a patient survives, and they’re finding that some people may be more susceptible to the effects of asbestos than others. Of all the cancers, mesothelioma is among the most deadly—most patients survive for less than one year. Researchers have been trying to prolong patients’ lives, in part by learning more about the disease and how it progresses. Because the vast majority of mesothelioma cases can be attributed to asbestos exposure, knowing how that exposure contributes to disease progression is an important component of research. “One crucial part of trying to advance our understanding of a serious disease like…

Mesothelioma and Active Symptom Control
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Mesothelioma and Active Symptom Control

ByAlex Strauss

Incorporating chemotherapy in a regimen of symptom-relieving treatments (such as steroid medications) doesn’t significantly improve survival or quality of life in mesothelioma patients, according to a study published in the May 17 issue of The Lancet. However, one chemotherapy drug—vinorelbine—is promising enough to warrant further study, the authors say. Because mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lung, it is one of the trickiest cancers to treat. Surgery is complicated because it requires either stripping the lung lining or removing the whole lung, radiation is risky because it can damage healthy lung tissue, and chemotherapy isn’t very effective against this type of cancer, says one of the lead study authors, Richard Stephens, a research scientist with the Medical Research Council Clinical…

Asbestos a Deadly Carcinogen
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Asbestos a Deadly Carcinogen

ByAlex Strauss

Asbestos can cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Yet, companies that manufatured and used asbestos hid the truth about this carcinogen from the public and their own employees. The result of this shameful behavior is that thousands of healthy people of all ages have become stricken with debilitating and deadly diseases that could have been avoided. For example in the early 1940’s, the president of a major asbestos manufacturing company said that the managers of another company were “a bunch of fools for notifying employees who had asbestosis.” When one of the people in attendance asked, “Do you mean to tell me you would let them work until they drop dead?” According to deposition testimony, the response was, “Yes. We save…