Breast Cancer Drug Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumors in Mice
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Breast Cancer Drug Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumors in Mice

ByAlex Strauss

There is new evidence that a drug used to fight breast cancer may offer a new way to treat the intractable lung-related cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma. Scientists at Rome’s Regina Elena National Cancer Institute have recently published some encouraging findings on the drug Aromasin (exemestane) in the journal Molecular Cancer. Aromasin is designed to block the enzyme aromatase, which is critical for the synthesis of estrogen. For cancers that are sensitive to estrogen, such a breast cancer, reducing the amount of the hormone in the body by inhibiting aromatase has been shown to curb cancer growth. Based on recent evidence that aromatase may also play a role in malignant mesothelioma, the Italian scientists tested the aromatase inhibitor Aromasin on mesothelioma…

Mesothelioma Surgery Debate: Experience is the Answer
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Mesothelioma Surgery Debate: Experience is the Answer

ByAlex Strauss

A pair of researchers in the UK say a cancer center’s level of experience in dealing with mesothelioma may be the most important factor in achieving good surgical outcomes – not which surgery is chosen. Their new meta-analysis is the latest in a long line of studies attempting to discern which type of mesothelioma surgery is best for patients in terms of survival and complications. The global medical community remains sharply divided over the risks and benefits of lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication vs. lung-removing extrapleural pneumonectomy. In the newest study, authors Sotiris and Sayonara Papaspyros analyzed the results of 16 separate studies comparing P/D to EPP in the treatment of mesothelioma. They found a median survival range from 8.1 to 32 months…

Standard Chemotherapy Mix Still Best for Mesothelioma
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Standard Chemotherapy Mix Still Best for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers at Japan’s Shizuoka Cancer Center and Juntendo University say the popular chemotherapy combination of cisplatin and Alimta (pemetrexed) should remain the gold standard for malignant pleural mesothelioma. In a study published in Respiratory Investigations, the team, led by Takehito Shukuya, concluded that Alimta and the platinum-based drug cisplatin produced better long term results in mesothelioma patients than the combination of cisplatin and Gemzar (gemcitabine). Gemzar is a nucleoside analog that some studies have found to be a promising alternative to the more conventional Alimta-based mesothelioma treatment. In a retrospective comparison study of the two treatment combinations, researchers examined the cases of 30 consecutive malignant pleural mesothelioma patients from July 2002 to December 2011. “We reviewed the medical charts of…

New Protein ‘Mimic’ Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Lab Tests
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New Protein ‘Mimic’ Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Lab Tests

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists testing a novel compound on mesothelioma cells in the lab say it may have the power to not only trigger cellular death, but also to stop mesothelioma from growing and spreading. CFMs (CARP-1 Functional Mimetics) are a class of compounds that ‘mimic’ the action of a protein called Cell Cycle Regulatory Protein (CARP) 1. As the name implies, CARP-1 plays a key role in regulating the life cycle of cells, including telling cells when it is time to enter apoptosis or programmed cell death. Cancers like mesothelioma can result when cells fail to enter apoptosis on schedule, while new cells are being created at a faster rate. When mesothelioma cells were exposed to CFMs in the lab, not only…

Inflammatory Markers May Predict Mesothelioma Prognosis
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Inflammatory Markers May Predict Mesothelioma Prognosis

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers say they have identified several signs of inflammation in patients with malignant mesothelioma that might be used to predict how patients will respond to treatment. Doctors from the Department of Chest Diseases at Dicle University collected data on 155 patients at the time of their mesothelioma diagnosis and compared it to their survival. The information collected included the extent of each patient’s exposure to asbestos, the histological subtype of their mesothelioma, and other laboratory measures. The mean survival time for all mesothelioma patients in the study was 13.9 months. When the researchers considered one potential prognostic factor at a time, they found that being 60 years old or over and having a neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) of 3 or more…

Long Term Survival Possible with CRS/HIPEC for Mesothelioma
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Long Term Survival Possible with CRS/HIPEC for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

There’s hopeful news for peritoneal mesothelioma patients facing the prospect of surgery. A new study on the benefits of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) finds that both the process and outcomes have improved over time. Cytoreductive surgery refers to any surgery aimed at removing as much cancerous tissue as possible. With peritoneal cancers such as mesothelioma, the surgeons may follow the procedure with a wash of heated chemotherapy drugs into the open body cavity. The goal of HIPEC is to destroy any remaining mesothelioma cells and to help keep new mesothelioma cells from growing. A study of 1,000 cytoreductive surgery/HIPEC patients, 72 of whom had mesothelioma, found that complications have decreased and survival has increased for all of…

Improved Mesothelioma Survival with Surgery/Radiation Combo
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Improved Mesothelioma Survival with Surgery/Radiation Combo

ByAlex Strauss

A cancer center in Canada is reporting a 3-year survival rate among 84% of their epithelial mesothelioma patients – a statistic that is significantly better than average. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an especially aggressive cancer and the median survival with standard therapies is a little over a year. Doctors at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto achieved much better odds using a combination of pre-surgery (neoadjuvant) intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). EPP is the most radical surgical approach to mesothelioma. It involves removing not only the diseased pleural lining, but also the diaphragm, the pericardium around the heart, and the effected lung. The new Canadian study involved 25 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosed between 2008 and…

Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?
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Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?

ByAlex Strauss

A new study says there is not enough evidence to support the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of pain associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland reviewed a range of past studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy by searching databases that date back as far as 1974. To be eligible to be included in their review, the study had to focus on malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy given “with the intent of improving pain”. The study also had to report doses and fractionation of the radiotherapy and how the pain responded. In all, the researchers found eight studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy that met the criteria. Two of the studies were prospective…

Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma: Better But Still Limited
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Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma: Better But Still Limited

ByAlex Strauss

A form of highly-targeted radiation therapy for mesothelioma is better than it used to be, but is still risky. That is the message of a recent article on intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Author Kenneth E. Rosenzweig, MD, a Radiation Oncologist with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, reviewed recent studies on IMRT and mesothelioma. He concludes that, while the “troubling toxicity” associated with IMRT when it was first introduced has not been entirely eliminated, the fact that clinicians now have more experience with it is making a positive difference for mesothelioma patients. Before targeted therapies like IMRT were available, high-dose radiation was not usually a feasible option for mesothelioma since the irregular shape…

New Drugs May Be More Effective in Mesothelioma
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New Drugs May Be More Effective in Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

There is evidence that two novel mesothelioma medications may work better than some of the most commonly used drug treatments. Researchers in Stockholm, Sweden treated six mesothelioma cell lines with six different drugs, some of which are already commonly used to treat the asbestos-linked cancer.  The drugs tested include carboplatin, pemetrexed, doxorubicin and gemcitabine, all of which have been used to fight mesothelioma. The new drugs included in the tests were selenite (a form of selenium) and bortezomib (a proteasome inhibitor).  The researchers tested the drugs alone and in various combinations to see which were most effective. “As a single agent, selenite was effective on four out of six cell lines and, in combination with bortezomib, yielded the greatest response…