New Study: Pure Talc is Not a Cause of Pleural Mesothelioma
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New Study: Pure Talc is Not a Cause of Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

New research out of Italy is further evidence that asbestos – and not other dusty minerals like talc – is almost always the cause of pleural mesothelioma. The evidence comes from a 50-year study of more than 1,700 Northern Italian talc miners and millers.  Talc and asbestos often lie close together in the ground. Some people who have worked in talc mines or even used talc products have developed malignant mesothelioma. Many of these mines and products were contaminated with asbestos. This makes it difficult to know if it was the talc or the asbestos that caused the cancer.  But the workers in the new study worked in a mine that was uncontaminated with asbestos. Analysis of their causes of death…

LA Woman’s Story is a Sobering Reminder to Watch for Signs of Pleural Mesothelioma
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LA Woman’s Story is a Sobering Reminder to Watch for Signs of Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The plight of an LA actress who found out she had lung cancer because of a COVID test is a sobering reminder to be aware of the early signs of pleural mesothelioma. The woman’s story was recently featured on the Today Show website. Fifty-nine year old Annabelle Gurwitch is a non-smoker with no known lung cancer risk factors. She and her 23-year-old child decided to get COVID tests after her child came home from college.  Although the COVID test was negative, Gurwitch writes that doctors were concerned about her persistent cough. Ongoing cough can be a one of the early signs of pleural mesothelioma, too. An X-ray revealed that Gurwitch was suffering from Stage 4 lung cancer, the most common…

Could Anti-Malaria Drug Become New Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment?
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Could Anti-Malaria Drug Become New Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment?

ByAlex Strauss

A new report  suggests an anti-malaria drug called quinacrine has potential as a new pleural mesothelioma treatment. Before chloroquine became more popular, quinacrine was widely used to treat malaria. Now doctors mostly use it for a diarrhea disease caused by a parasite. But a report published in the International Journal of Molecular Science says quinacrine also has anti-cancer properties. Laboratory tests suggest it has the makings of a powerful new pleural mesothelioma treatment. The Challenge of Pleural Mesothelioma Malignant mesothelioma starts on the membranes around internal organs. It can quickly spread to other parts of the body. Pleural mesothelioma grows on the lining around the lungs. It is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos dust.  Most people with mesothelioma…

Pleural Mesothelioma Rates Expected to Decline Just as Lung Cancer Deaths Have
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Pleural Mesothelioma Rates Expected to Decline Just as Lung Cancer Deaths Have

ByAlex Strauss

A new report suggests that pleural mesothelioma rates will continue to decline worldwide over the next decade as many countries get wise to the dangers of asbestos. The report comes on the heels of another study showing dramatic declines in US lung cancer deaths.  The report on mesothelioma rates comes from market research website, Research and Markets. The company evaluated malignant pleural mesothelioma incidence in seven countries to come up with an 11-year forecast. According to the research, the US, UK, Japan, and four European countries can expect declining rates of asbestos cancer through 2030. Those who do receive a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis may benefit from some of the same drugs that are helping lung cancer patients survive. Lung Cancer…

Some Long-Term Mesothelioma Survivors May Have Few Symptoms
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Some Long-Term Mesothelioma Survivors May Have Few Symptoms

ByAlex Strauss

New research shows that some long-term mesothelioma survivors may have few or no symptoms of the disease for years.  The research appears in a recent issue of the journal Clinical Lung Cancer. A team of Finnish doctors wanted to identify the unique characteristics of long-term mesothelioma survivors. They discovered that some of these survivors seem to have an indolent form of asbestos cancer. This suggests that it is possible for a person to live for many years with pleural  mesothelioma and not even know they have it. Typical Mesothelioma Symptoms It is not unusual for mesothelioma patients to have no symptoms in the early stages, but long-term mesothelioma survivors are rare. Once the cancer takes hold, it usually grows quickly. …

Surgery Extends Survival for Patients with Pleural Mesothelioma
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Surgery Extends Survival for Patients with Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Patients with pleural mesothelioma who choose to have surgery live longer than those who do not. This applies no matter which kind of surgery they have.  That is the conclusion of a Mexican study published in the Annals of Oncology. Doctors with the country’s National Institute for Respiratory Diseases conducted the study. It included 122 pleural mesothelioma patients.  The researchers analyzed a wide range of variables like age, sex, asbestos exposure, and overall health. They discovered that the decision to have surgery was one of the most important survival factors in patients with pleural mesothelioma. Treatment Options for Patients with Pleural Mesothelioma Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with no known cure. It usually occurs in people who have been…

PET/CT for Mesothelioma Diagnosis: Age and Stage May Impact Accuracy
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PET/CT for Mesothelioma Diagnosis: Age and Stage May Impact Accuracy

ByAlex Strauss

A new study of PET/CT for mesothelioma diagnosis shows that certain conditions can impact its accuracy. Test results may be less reliable in older patients and in those with very early stage mesothelioma.  The study comes from cancer researchers in Italy. They compared the accuracy of PET/CT for mesothelioma diagnosis in 141 patients over a 9-year period.  A third of the oldest patients with Stage 1 pleural mesothelioma received false negative results. The figure jumped to 40 percent when age was not considered.  What is PET/CT for Mesothelioma Diagnosis? Positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) are non-invasive methods of looking at internal tissues.  A CT scan takes X-rays from different angles. A computer compiles the images into a…

Pleural Mesothelioma Rates Remain Stagnant As Survival Improves
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Pleural Mesothelioma Rates Remain Stagnant As Survival Improves

ByAlex Strauss

A new report shows pleural mesothelioma rates in the US have failed to decline as they were predicted to do, but survival is improving slightly.  The US government began to implement tighter restrictions on asbestos in the 1970s. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic say original projections had the incidence of pleural mesothelioma peaking in the early 2000s as a result. Pleural mesothelioma rates were supposed to decline after that. But numbers from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) tell a different story. They suggest that, while mesothelioma survival is improving, incidence of asbestos cancer are not. Asbestos and Malignant Mesothelioma Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of a range of illnesses caused by asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type…

HITHOC Treatment Deemed Safe for Some Pleural Mesothelioma Patients
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HITHOC Treatment Deemed Safe for Some Pleural Mesothelioma Patients

ByAlex Strauss

German doctors testing the HITHOC treatment for pleural mesothelioma say it is a “safe therapeutic option”. The key to success is careful patient selection. Pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer linked to asbestos. Tumors grow on the membrane that surrounds the lungs. Doctors have not yet found a cure for mesothelioma.  HITHOC treatment involves rinsing heated chemotherapy drugs through the chest after mesothelioma surgery. The new study suggests that this advanced approach may help certain mesothelioma patients live longer.  Understanding Pleural Mesothelioma Tumors To understand how HITHOC treatment works, it is important to understand how and where mesothelioma tumors grow.  Pleural mesothelioma tumors start on the lining around the lungs called the pleura. As tumors grow, the pleura thickens and…

Gel-Based Mesothelioma Treatment: A Novel Approach to Pleural Mesothelioma
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Gel-Based Mesothelioma Treatment: A Novel Approach to Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Swiss scientists are developing a novel gel-based mesothelioma treatment for people with pleural disease. Early studies suggest it may be a safer way to deliver cancer-fighting drugs with fewer side effects. The gel-based mesothelioma treatment combines the chemotherapy drug cisplatin with a natural “glue” called fibrin. When the gel is applied during surgery, it can keep fighting tumors for months. Why Develop a Gel-Based Treatment? Cisplatin is a platinum-based drug. Together with pemetrexed (Alimta), it is one of the most common chemotherapy drugs for mesothelioma. In the past decade, doctors came up with a way to increase the effectiveness of cisplatin in people with peritoneal mesothelioma. These patients get chemotherapy the usual way. But they also get a rinse of…