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Asbestos Found in Children’s Toys and Crayons
Health and safety advocates are aware of asbestos dangers and how exposure poses risks, but the dangerous set of minerals usually affects those in industrial industries. A report, however, shows that asbestos knows no bounds and can affect children simply playing with toys or coloring. The Environmental Working Group’s sister organization, EWG Action Fund, completed
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Asbestos Death Toll Much Higher Than Originally Thought
Though it has been well established that exposure to asbestos is responsible for numerous deaths in the U.S., a recent report issued by the Environmental Working Group Action Fund revealed that the national fatality numbers are higher than what was originally thought. Some areas are much harder hit than others when it comes to asbestos
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OSHA Study Names Industries at Highest Mesothelioma Risk
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration has contributed information regarding chemical exposure levels measured in various industries over a period ranging from the mid-1980s to 2011. The data was compiled and analyzed by researchers studying occupational risks for asbestos-related illnesses such as malignant mesothelioma cancer. The results were published in May 2015 in
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Physicians Urge Change to Mesothelioma Treatment Regimen
Mesothelioma experts are urging their communities to adopt a new standard of care in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. The change would represent the first major adjustment in over ten years. According to data provided by lead author Gerard Zalcman M.D. at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2015 meeting held in Chicago, researchers
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World Health Organization Says One in Three Europeans Exposed to Asbestos
The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe held a high-level meeting in Haifa this week, and warned that at least one out of every three inhabitants of Europe face exposure to asbestos. The deadly material may be present in either the workplace or in their environment, and it is expected to kill 15,000 people
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Report Warns of Coming Increase in Asbestos Disease in Asia
Efforts to eradicate asbestos-related disease continue throughout Europe, Australia and the United States, but in other areas of the world, asbestos use continues to rise. Health experts are now warning that there will be a dramatic increase in the number of cases of mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other diseases in those countries over the next few
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MultiModality Mesothelioma Treatment Still Seen as Best
The search for an effective treatment protocol for mesothelioma provides a challenge to researchers and physicians alike. Now, a recent study indicates that the multi-modality treatment approach that has gained popularity in the last several years is seen as one of the most successful options. According to a collaborative research project conducted by doctors in
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Next Generation Sequencing Reveals Mesothelioma Mutations
The rare and deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma has proven extremely challenging to researchers and physicians, who have been largely unable to stop the progress or significantly improve survival. A study using targeted next-generation sequencing of malignant pleural mesothelioma tumor provided a partial explanation of why the cancer has been so immutable. It
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Research Finds that Mesothelioma Originates from Multiple Cells
Cancer is a notoriously difficult disease to treat. Referred to as the “Emperor of all Maladies” in a recent best-seller, the history of cancer and the attempt to cure it is centuries old and tracks a series of misunderstandings and misconceptions that, once corrected, have led step-by-step to solutions to many of cancer’s mysteries. Mesothelioma
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St. Judes’ Researchers Make Groundbreaking Immunology Discovery
In the world of medicine, one of the biggest challenges and mysteries revolves around the immune system and how it works. Science knows that a healthy immune system fights off infection and other diseases, including cancer, but can also facilitate tumor growth. Understanding which blood cells are working against the system and helping cancer cells
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Baylor Announces New Lung Institute
The highly esteemed Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center recently announced that it’s establishing a new multidisciplinary center dedicated to the treatment of a variety of chronic lung diseases. From those diagnosed with mesothelioma to those suffering from late stage lung cancer, patients will be able to come to the Baylor
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New Radiation Therapy Technique Being Praised for Mesothelioma Treatment
There is a new, state-of-the-art radiotherapy technique known as VMAT, or volumetric modulated arc therapy, and it is being highly praised for its ability to offer mesothelioma patients a more targeted approach to post-surgery radiation treatments. The new technique was specifically engineered to provide a highly targeted dose of radiation into a tumor without the
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Researchers Call Mesothelioma a Global Epidemic
Despite the best efforts of the World Health Organization and other global organizations, it appears that there is no slowdown in the incidence of mesothelioma around the world. In fact, there are signs that the problem may be on the rise in some regions. A study by researchers Claudio and Tommaso Bianchi of the Center
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Nepal Bans Asbestos
The government of Nepal has announced that it is banning asbestos as a result of concerns about its health impact. An announcement out of the capital city of Kathmandu stated that the toxic material, which has been traced to a number of serious and even fatal health conditions, will no longer be allowed to be
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Experts Find Insurance Reimbursement Drives Mesothelioma Decisions
A study published in the “Annals of Surgical Oncology” provides some encouraging news for patients facing a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Researchers have found that the way that insurance companies are reimbursing hospitals for a variety of treatments is actually improving outcomes in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma. The study was conducted by surgical oncologists at
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Italian Researchers Identify Factor Affecting Mesothelioma Aggressiveness
It’s well known that some types of mesothelioma cells are more aggressive than others, and are likewise more resistant to certain therapies. A team of researchers from the University of Torino in Italy believe that they have found a cellular variant that may be responsible for these differences There are three different cell types that
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Canadian Report Cites Mesothelioma as Leading Work-Related Illness
Researchers from Canada’s School of Public Health at the University of Montreal set themselves the difficult task of determining how many work-related cancer cases and deaths occurred in the country between the years of 1997 and 2005. These figures can be difficult to determine, because not every case is identified by its cause, and many
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Mesothelioma Researchers in Slovenia Make Important Discovery
Researchers from the Institute of Biochemistry at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia have made an important discovery that may make a real difference for mesothelioma patients with limited time to pursue the appropriate course of treatment. Spurred on by the tremendous degree of variance in the ways that mesothelioma patients responded to chemotherapy treatment,
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Pleural Mesothelioma Patients Can Utilize Less Invasive Biopsy Procedure
Mesothelioma is a rare and fatal form of cancer that can be difficult to diagnose. The condition is diagnosed in approximately 3,500 patients a year. One of the difficulties in diagnosing the disease is that one of the only definitive diagnostic tools is a surgical biopsy that may be too invasive and difficult for some
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Women’s Mesothelioma Survival Rate Found to be Much Higher Than Men’s
A comprehensive study of mesothelioma in America was completed by researchers from the North Shore/Long Island Jewish Health System-Hofstra School of Medicine and Mount Sinai Health System in New York. The study involved more than 14,000 mesothelioma patients whose records had been compiled in the national Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database between the
