Despite the best efforts of researchers, malignant mesothelioma remains one of the most challenging forms of cancer to treat. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that the illness is so rare — the fewer patients there are, the less opportunity researchers have to study it and test responses. Another difficult aspect is
COVID-19 impacted many mesothelioma lawsuits, including the wrongful death claim filed by Carol Backe against Conwed Corporation. Though the trial was originally scheduled for February, its date was pushed back to May. The delay is one of many that the Backe family have faced since Gene “Randy” Backe was diagnosed with the fatal disease in
An ingredient in traditional Korean medicine has been found to inhibit lung cancer metastasis, and future research may reveal that the same is true for malignant mesothelioma and other cancers. The discovery is yet another example of how traditional Korean and Chinese medicines may have functional use in the treatment of disease and in improved
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive form of cancer that combines a remarkably long latency period with a short survival time once diagnosed. Decades go by between patients being exposed to asbestos and first manifesting symptoms, yet once patients start to feel sick they usually die in less than two years, sometimes in
Exposure to asbestos can lead to a wide range of deadly diseases, including malignant mesothelioma, and that exposure does not need to be direct. According to a lawsuit filed by Lorraine Sprague, not only did asbestos cause the lung cancer that killed her husband David back in 2003, but now it has led to her
According to a recent study conducted by physicians at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, mesothelioma is not an equal opportunity disease in terms of either its prevalence or in the way that physicians provide treatment. Publishing their findings in the journal Clinical Lung Cancer, the study’s authors determined that women diagnosed with mesothelioma
Speaking at the 18th Annual Winter Lung Cancer Conference, noted mesothelioma researcher Anne S. Tsao, MD told the virtual gathering of physicians that recent advances in the frontline treatment of malignant mesothelioma have made clear the need for further clinical trials evaluating optimal sequencing of checkpoint inhibitors for patients in the salvage setting, as well as
Carboplatin and cisplatin are both platinum-based chemotherapy drugs used in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, but there has long been debate on which is the best option for patients. While cisplatin has been associated with better overall survival, it imposes uncomfortable side effects that reduce patient quality of life. By contrast, carboplatin causes fewer adverse
Patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma generally receive a chemotherapy cocktail of pemetrexed and cisplatin or carboplatin as a first line of treatment. If they are considered good candidates they may also have surgery and/or radiation therapy and then they are followed and maintained on various treatments designed to hold back the disease’s return. Second line
Exercise may be the last thing on your mind after receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis, but you may want to adjust your thinking. A retrospective study has shown that regular physical activity may be a factor in quality of life and survival time in patients with lung disease. Though the study, published in the journal Cancer Nursing,