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Canadian Pathologists Explore Accuracy of Available Markers for Malignant Mesothelioma
A firm diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma needs to be made before an effective treatment plan can be put into place, and after that initial diagnosis is made surgeons need to be able to distinguish between benign and malignant tissue. Prior to surgery they rely on biomarkers to guide them, but several of these markers exist
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Researchers Publish Updated Guidance on Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment
Malignant mesothelioma is so rare that it presents a challenge for many physicians. It is not uncommon for doctors never to have seen a patient with the disease and, if one is diagnosed, to be unfamiliar with the appropriate course of treatment. In response to this and to refresh available information for others, two researchers
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PD-L1 Protein Is Predictive of Mesothelioma Survival
Oncologists have a list of characteristics that suggest that a mesothelioma patient will be more or less likely to have a longer or shorter survival time. Being female, being younger, or in better health without co-morbidities at the time of diagnosis, are all indicators of a better prognosis. Now researchers from the Linyi People’s Hospital
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Kentucky Hospital Announces Availability of Optune Lua Mesothelioma Treatment
It’s been just over 18 months since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novocure’s Tumor Treating Fields, now known as Optune Lua, for use in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The device has been introduced gradually in cancer treatment centers across the United States, and now St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Kentucky has announced that
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Asbestos Companies Fight to Keep Experts Out of Mesothelioma Trials
When a mesothelioma patient gets diagnosed, they’re asked about previous exposure to asbestos. This is because, in most cases, their disease is a result of negligence on the part of asbestos companies that manufactured or supplied the parts that the individual worked with. When the victim and their loved ones choose to pursue a legal
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British Study to Test New Drug for Relapsed Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
While much of the world remains locked down due to the COVID crisis, scientists and researchers continue their work, and that includes searching for a cure for malignant mesothelioma. In the last few weeks there have been notable breakthroughs, including the first FDA approval of a new drug in over a decade. This week, the
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New Biomarker and Potential Target for Mesothelioma Identified by NIH Researchers
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland have published new research identifying a specific protein as a biomarker for survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The study, published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, has provided scientists with yet another tool in the battle against this rare and fatal form of cancer.
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Study Helps Doctors Treat Mesothelioma Without Trading Kidney Health
When mesothelioma patients and their physicians discuss treatment plans, one of the most common topics is trade-offs. Almost every step forward in the status of their cancer might come at the cost of some other aspect of their health. One example is the kidney damage that often follows cisplatin-based chemotherapy treatment. But now Japanese researchers
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Mesothelioma Patients Can Benefit from Personalized Cancer Therapies
Mesothelioma researchers have long favored targeted cancer therapies, and this week that approach was supported by the results of a study out of the University of California San Diego. Following the establishment of a multidisciplinary molecular tumor board at the renowned facility, doctors found that those patients who were treated using precision medicine strategies experienced
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Navy Reservist’s Widow Prevails in Mesothelioma Hearing That Describes “Dusty, Dirty, Oily” Environment
The U.S. District Court of New Jersey heard riveting testimony in a mesothelioma hearing that saw the widow of a Navy reservist battling against Westinghouse and Foster Wheeler Energy. Though the two corporate giants tried to quash her claim and have it dismissed, the court sided with Linda Hammell, allowing her wrongful death claim to
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Canadian Pathologists Identify Distinct Immunohistochemistry in Malignant Mesothelioma Cells
Even individuals with a history of exposure to asbestos need to go through time-consuming testing processes before their symptoms can be diagnosed as malignant mesothelioma. This has been a source of frustration, since correct diagnosis is essential to ensuring that patients receive the right treatment. Now a team of Canadian pathologists has identified a distinction
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FDA Approves Combination Immunotherapy Treatment for Mesothelioma
For the first time in sixteen years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given its approval for a new, systemic treatment for malignant mesothelioma. The remarkable move came after the use of a combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) treatments provided a more than twenty percent improvement in overall survival for patients
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Australian Study of New Drug Combination Shows Promise For Mesothelioma Patients
The use of immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy is among the most promising treatments being studied in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Results just reported from a multi-center study out of Australia have shown that a combination of durvalumab — a programmed cell death ligand 1 inhibitor — and a chemotherapy treatment of pemetrexed plus
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Mesothelioma Families Watch and Wait as Hoped-For Asbestos Ban Bill Stalls in Congress
People whose lives have been impacted by malignant mesothelioma and other related diseases have long pushed for a ban on asbestos, the carcinogenic mineral that causes these deadly conditions. Despite previously having strong bipartisan backing, a scheduled vote on a ban has been delayed in the House of Representatives after two separate issues have caused
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Parents Fear Mesothelioma Risk After Criminal Asbestos Charges Against School Officials
Malignant mesothelioma is a terminal disease caused by exposure to asbestos, and that exposure is almost always linked to the patient’s occupation. But in the face of an announcement from Pennsylvania’s Attorney General and State Police about criminal behavior on the part of Scranton School District officials, parents now have to worry about their children’s
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Mesothelioma Continues Its Reign in Montana
The state of Montana has many wonderful things to recommend it, but despite its beauty and wide-open spaces, it also lives in the shadow of asbestos-related diseases like malignant mesothelioma. Though it has been decades since the W. R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine stopped spewing asbestos into the air and the environment, people continue
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A Fitting Way to Mark Mesothelioma Awareness Day
Though Mesothelioma Awareness Day was officially marked on Saturday, September 26th, advocates for mesothelioma victims are hoping that this year’s real celebration will come on Tuesday, September 29th. That’s when the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2019.
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Naval Reservist’s Mesothelioma Death Blamed on Asbestos Gaskets
Arthur Hammell died of malignant mesothelioma more than fifty years after he enlisted in the Naval Reserves. Back in 1960, he’d known that military service involved risks, but he never dreamed his death would be the result of exposure to boilers installed on the vessels in which he served. Now his widow is seeking justice
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Could Trojan Horse Nanoparticles Hold the Key to Stopping Malignant Mesothelioma?
Malignant mesothelioma is one of several types of cancer that have proven particularly resistant to traditional cancer treatments, presenting significant challenges to physicians and leading to tragically short life expectancies after diagnosis. But a group of researchers from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have devised a novel approach that may hold the key to
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Italian Research Supports Neighborhood Lawsuits Against Asbestos Companies
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos. For years, victims of the disease have filed and won multi-million-dollar lawsuits against companies that placed profit over people’s health by including the carcinogenic material in their products despite its risks. Though most of those claims were filed
