Study May Lead To New Mesothelioma Treatment

In what may be a breakthrough in the development of a treatment for mesothelioma, a new study reveals clues as to why tumor cells grow out of control and how to stop them.  

 

Rosetta Genomics, a developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, conducted the joint study on malignant pleural mesothelioma with medical researchers from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and New York University Langone Medical Center.  The findings were published in the online issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.  In the study, tumor cells from mesothelioma patients were found to be missing a molecular component called miR-31.  MiR-31 has recently been found to suppress the growth and spread of breast cancer cells.  When miR-31 was reintroduced into the mesothelioma cells, it suppressed cell cycle progression and significantly inhibited the replication of DNA, making them much slower to multiply.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered cell components that act as master switches for protein synthesis inside cells.  The presence or absence of certain microRNAs has been shown to be a reliable predictor (also called a biomarker) of how cells will function.  Since miR-31 seems to inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells, Rosetta Genomics is hoping it may help them develop highly-targeted, biologically-based treatments for mesothelioma and other cancers.

“This latest publication is another demonstration of microRNA’s potential role in cancer therapeutics and details the significant impact a single microRNA can have on disease course,” says Kenneth A. Berlin, President and CEO of Rosetta Genomics.  “Over the past several years, microRNAs have been hailed as one of the most significant scientific and medical discoveries.”

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the abdomen and around the heart and lungs.  It is caused by repeated exposure – usually in the workplace – to tiny sharp fibers of the mineral fiber asbestos.  About 2,000 to 3,000 new cases are diagnosed annual in the U.S.  Because mesothelioma is often resistant to traditional cancer therapies, including chemotherapy and radiation, biologically-based therapies such as those based on microRNA are believed by many to offer the best hope for a more effective therapy. 

Source:
  Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer Rates Rise Worldwide

A new report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organization, states that lung cancer together with related thoracic cancers including malignant pleural mesothelioma are on the rise worldwide. 

 

According to the IARC, 1.61 million cases of lung cancer and mesothelioma were diagnosed worldwide in 2008.  Lung and asbestos cancers also accounted for more deaths than any other types of cancer, claiming the lives of 1.38 million people. Taken together, lung cancer and mesothelioma comprised 18.2 percent of all cancer deaths in 2008.

Although mesothelioma is a relatively rare cancer, affecting an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Americans annually, it is especially aggressive.  Pleural mesothelioma (affecting the lining around the lungs) and peritoneal mesothelioma (affecting the lining of the abdomen) are the most common types.   All types of mesothelioma are caused by asbestos.

Industries in which asbestos use was once common, including the shipping industry and various construction trades, account for the majority of cases of mesothelioma, which can occur years after the person is exposed to asbestos.  Mesothelioma rates on the rise in many poorer nations where lax asbestos regulations and continued asbestos imports (most notably from Canada) continue to put workers at risk.  

Mesothelioma is not the only type of cancer that has been linked to asbestos exposure.  Inhalation of asbestos has also been implicated in both small cell and non-small cell lung cancers.   In 2009, another IARC study published in the British Medical Journal, The Lancet Oncology, linked asbestos to some throat and ovarian cancers.  According to the National Cancer Institute, asbestos can also increase the risk for kidney, esophageal and gallbladder cancers.

The IARC study estimates that 13.2 million people worldwide will die of cancer annually by the year 2030.  Because asbestos-linked cancers can take 20 to 50 years to develop, mesothelioma and other asbestos related cancers are expected to comprise an increasingly larger percentage of cancer deaths for the next 25 years. 

Source:
  Mesothelioma