Study Advises Caution For Mesothelioma Blood Test

Australian researchers are warning that a blood test used to help diagnose mesothelioma could indicate the presence of another disease instead.

 

Mesothelin is a protein that occurs naturally in cells of the mesothelium, the membrane that surrounds and protects internal organs. The recent finding that blood levels of mesothelin are elevated in mesothelioma patients was a breakthrough for the asbestos-linked cancer that can be difficult to diagnose.  More than half of the mesothelioma patients tested had significantly elevated serum mesothelin at diagnosis, prompting doctors to begin using serum mesothelin as a diagnostic tool.  

But now a new study suggests that serum mesothelin can also be significantly elevated in people with kidney disease and recommends that doctors take that into consideration when looking for mesothelioma.   The Australian team set out to determine the relationship between mesothelin concentrations and kidney function, so that doctors can more accurately interpret the results of a mesothelioma blood test.

The cross-sectional study included 144 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).  The test did not include patients who had had kidney transplants, were on kidney dialysis, or were known to have kidney cancer.  The findings showed that serum mesothelin increased with increasing serum creatinine levels, an indicator of the severity of the CKD. There was also a significant correlation between urine mesothelin-to-creatinine levels and mesothelin levels in the blood.

Although they were approaching the test from a different angle, these researchers reached the same conclusion as those who first revealed the serum mesothelin test to be a mesothelioma diagnosis tool:  When used as part of a multi-factor diagnostic approach that also considers age, symptoms, biopsy results and history of asbestos exposure, serum mesothelin can be valuable. The new study suggests that renal function should also be on the list of considerations when interpreting the test.

Sources:

Boudville, N et al, “Mesothelin and kidney function – Analysis of relationship and implications for mesothelioma screening”, February 16, 2011, Lung Cancer. Epub ahead of print. 

Induced Cancer Malignant Mesothelioma”, June 29, 2010, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Power Plants Workers at High Risk for Mesothelioma

A new German study has confirmed what thousands of power plants workers already know: their exposure to asbestos on the job puts them at high risk for malignant mesothelioma.

Because of its heat resistant properties, asbestos was used for many years as an insulator around hot power plants turbines, wires and other sensitive equipment.  Thousands of power plants workers have come in contact with the material on a daily basis, in some cases, for decades.

In the newest study on the risk of mesothelioma among power plant workers, German researchers monitored 8,632 former or current power plant employees between 2002 and 2006 who worked with the large turbines.  The researchers took dust fibers from in and around the plants and found that 96 percent of the samples contained high amounts of chrysotile asbestos fibers, a known risk factor for asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other types of lung cancer.

The results of the analysis showed that up to 94 percent of the study subjects had been exposed to asbestos during their employment, some for as long as 20 years, and were at high risk for mesothelioma. The research team analyzed workers involved in different jobs within the power plant and found that the most intense asbestos exposure happened during the repair or revision of the power turbines. While all the power plant workers were heavily exposed to asbestos, power plant metalworkers and electricians, those most directly involved with turbine repair, tended to have the highest exposure and the greatest risk for diseases such as mesothelioma.

Most strikingly, the study found that, although the air inside the power plants was clearly toxic, 82 percent of the German workers did not have any safety precautions in their workplace to protect them against mesothelioma.  The study’s authors suggest that, because of the findings, metal workers and electricians in the power generating industry should be closely monitored for signs of mesothelioma. 

Although mesothelioma is fast-growing and resistant to traditional therapies, early detection vastly improves a patient’s chances of survival.

Source :

Mesothelioma News

Antioxidants May Help Fight Mesothelioma

New research from a Philadelphia cancer center suggests antioxidants may be another important tool in the fight against malignant mesothelioma.  

Consumers know antioxidants, such as beta carotene, as dietary supplements which can fight oxidative stress at the cellular level.  Certain beans, blueberries, apples, cranberries, strawberries, cherries and plums are just some of the foods that are high in antioxidants.  But there are also several antioxidant-based drugs that have a similar effect on cells and are currently being used to treat conditions such as lung disease, diabetes and malaria. 

Now, researchers at Thomas Jefferson Hospital’s Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have found evidence that these drugs may also be effective against cancers, such as mesothelioma.  The team showed that the loss of a tumor-suppressing protein known as Caveolin-1 leads to tumor growth and is an important predictor of cancer outcomes.  Breast cancer patients found to be missing the Caveolin-1 protein had only a 10 percent chance of surviving for 5 years, whereas those who did have the protein had a 75 percent chance of survival.

Loss of the Caveolin-1 protein leads to oxidative stress in mesothelioma cells, which produces ‘fuel’ for tumor growth.  Because antioxidants fight this stress, and cut off this fuel supply, the researchers theorize that treating mesothelioma patients with antioxidant medications might be one way to stop the growth of their tumors.  Currently, antioxidants are not typically used to treat mesothelioma and other cancers because it is commonly believed that they could counter the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs, which cause oxidative stress.

"This study provides the necessary genetic evidence that reducing oxidative stress in the body will decrease tumor growth,” said lead researcher Michael P. Lisanti, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cancer biology at Jefferson Medical College."Now that we have genetic proof that mitochondrial oxidative stress is important for driving tumor growth, we should reconsider using antioxidants… as anti-cancer agents.”

Some of the drugs shown to reduce oxidative stress include the diabetes drugs metformin, a malaria medication called chloroquine and a third agent called N-acetyl cysteine.  In the future they could be used as part of a multi-modality treatment approach to mesothelioma, which is notoriously difficult to treat.

The study’s findings were published in the online February 15 issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy. 

Sources:
  Surviving Mesothelioma

Immune System May Help Fight Mesothelioma

Proteins and toxins produced by the body’s own immune system could prove to be powerful weapons in the fight against malignant mesothelioma. 

 

Manipulating the immune system to fight cancer is known as immunotherapy.  One type of immunotherapy is utilizing natural immunotoxins, or cell killers, produced by the white blood cells to attack tumors.  Preliminary data shows that a protein produced by these cells called interleukin-4 or IL-4, may have potent cancer-fighting properties.  Researchers with the Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute in California are planning studies to test the toxin’s value as a way to combat mesothelioma. 

Their first challenge will be to produce enough IL-4 to conduct tests.  When enough of the immunotoxin can be synthesized according to FDA standards, the researchers plan to test it in combination with chemotherapy, hyperthermia and interferon therapy using mesothelioma cells grown in the laboratory.  If the results of the laboratory studies (in vitro) show promise, the teams will conduct studies of IL-4 in animals (in vivo) and eventually in human subjects.  

Mesothelioma, a rare cancer that attacks the tissues surrounding the lungs and other organs, is extremely difficult treat and survival beyond one year is uncommon.  According to the PHLBI website, if these planned trials prove the efficacy of IL-4, it ‘could be a key to significant progress toward a cure for this dreaded disease’.

Another substance produced by the immune system, interferon, has also shown promising results against mesothelioma in studies conducted at UCLA.  Interferons are messenger proteins that are normally produced to fight certain kinds of infections.  PHLBI researchers believe that, like immunotoxins, interferons may also play a role in fighting abnormal cells like cancer cells, by inhibiting their ability to form blood vessels.  In high does, they have already been shown to help keep melanoma cancer from recurring. 

Plans are in place for upcoming trials to combine interferon with other therapies such as hyperthermia and immune stimulating cytokines to treat mesothelioma cells in the laboratory. Eventually, interferon may even be combined with a COX-2 inhibiting drug such as Celebrex as a ‘maintenance therapy’ to keep mesothelioma tumors in check.  As with IL-4, success in the lab may lead to animal and eventual human testing at UCLA and other centers around the country.

Source:
  Mesothelioma

Worldwide Mesothelioma Rate Higher Than Expected

The global rate of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma is probably much higher than was previously thought.

A new study published in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) environmental health sciences journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, estimates that for every four or five cases of mesothelioma worldwide, there is at least one more case that goes unreported.   

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer that usually develops 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos, a mineral used for many years in a wide variety of products and applications.  The popularity of asbestos declined after it was associated with mesothelioma and other serious health problems in the 1980’s, but there is still no asbestos ban in the USA.  In addition, because it is cheap and plentiful, asbestos is especially popular in developing countries, many of whom continue to import and use it today, despite the risks.

To arrive at their numbers, the Environmental Health Perspective study’s authors looked at the correlation between asbestos use and mesothelioma deaths in 89 countries, which accounted for more than 82 percent of the world’s population in the year 2000.  The study assessed each country’s level of asbestos use between 1920 and 1970 and compared it with each country’s mesothelioma deaths between 1994 and 2008.  The United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan were the largest users of asbestos. Because many of the smaller, poorer countries that also use asbestos tend to have less reliable reporting practices, the authors cautioned that the actual numbers of mesothelioma cases may be even higher than the study suggests.  

“Our most important finding is the magnitude of unreported mesothelioma in countries that use asbestos at substantial levels but report no cases of the disease,” study co-author Ken Takahashi said in a press release. Takahashi says any country that uses asbestos is certain to have mesothelioma cases and countries whose use has increased, rather than decreased, since 1970 are likely to see a rise in cases in the coming decades.

Takahashi and his co-authors call on all countries to stop mining, using and exporting asbestos in order to prevent mesothelioma. The new study is the first to provide a global estimate of unreported mesothelioma cases based on asbestos use and reported mesothelioma cases. The prognosis for mesothelioma is usually poor.

Source:
  Mesothelioma

New Compound Proves Effective Against Mesothelioma in Mice

Japanese researchers believe they have found a powerful new compound to fight the aggressive cancer – malignant pleural mesothelioma.
 

The team at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo have had success using a novel therapeutic compound called JBIR-23 in mice. JBIR-23 is a natural compound first derived from the bacteria Streptomyces sp. AK-AB27 in 2008.  In laboratory test tube studies, its unique chemical structure appears to have a cytotoxic effect on mesothelioma cells and promote apoptosis (cell death).

 When the compound was tested on mice with mesothelioma, the effect was the same.  JBIR-23 appears to prevent the further growth of the tumor, without loss of weight or other observable side effects.

The news is promising in light off the fact that mesothelioma is considered an aggressive cancer that is difficult to cure with conventional therapies.  Mesothelioma is caused by long-term exposure to asbestos, a mineral used in construction, insulation and thousands of other products. When inhaled, microscopic fibers of the mineral can trigger a chain of physiological events that can lead to cancer decades later.

Although a number of compounds are being studied for their potential for fight mesothelioma, JBIR-23 is encouraging because, as the Japanese researchers write, “JBIR-23 not only prevents tumor growth but also leads to a reduction in the volume of tumors.”  In a report in a recent issue of Cancer Letters, the team concludes, “These results suggest the JBIR-23 is a promising lead compound for use in MPM-specific therapeutic drugs without any side effects.”

In the U.S., mesothelioma affects approximately 2,000 to 3,000 people every year and its incidence is still on the rise, due to the long latency of the disease.  Early, accurate diagnosis is crucial to initiating treatment in time to slow the tumor’s growth.  Currently, first line treatments for mesothelioma include cisplatin-based chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiotherapy. 

Source:
  Mesothelioma

New Treatment for Mesothelioma Highlighted at Conference

Experts from around the globe will be meeting in Barcelona, Spain this month to discuss the benefits of a targeted type of radiation therapy that has shown promise in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma.

 

TomoTherapy is the brand name for an Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy system designed to deliver high doses of radiation directly into tumor cells, while minimizing the damage to surrounding healthy tissues.  The developers of the technology will present 82 new studies of its impact on various cancers, including mesothelioma, at the conference sponsored by the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO).

Mesothelioma, which involves the lining of the lungs and chest wall, is notoriously difficult to treat with radiation therapy because of the size and irregular shape of the tumor. The cancer’s proximity to healthy tissues, including a potentially healthy second lung, also makes radiation therapy for mesothelioma complex and risky. But a number of mesothelioma studies have also pointed to the value of incorporating radiation therapy into a multi-modality treatment plan that typically also includes surgery and chemotherapy.

The mesothelioma study being highlighted at the ESTRO conference was performed by a group of researchers at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan. In the study, researchers compared the treatment response of two sets of patients, both of which had been treated with the TomoTherapy platform.  One set of mesothelioma patients also received a ‘Simultaneous Integrated Boost’ or SIB during their radiation treatment.  SIB allows physicians to administer an extra ‘boost’ of radiation directly into the regions that were shown on PET scans to have the highest concentration of tumor cells.

The results were promising for mesothelioma patients and their physicians. According to the research, TomoTherapy utilizing the SIB technique appears to offer some significant survival benefits.  Patients who received the SIB during therapy saw their one-year survival rate increase to 72 percent, compared to 43 percent for the non-SIB group.  Researchers also found that the patients who had received the SIB dose did not have a relapse of their cancer for an average of 16 months, versus just six months for the non-SIB group.

The research was published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics.

Source:
  Mesothelioma

Experts Predict Mesothelioma Epidemic in India

Once prized as an insulator and building material, the mineral asbestos is now recognized by health experts around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), as a potent carcinogen that can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases.  While many industrialized nations now ban or seriously restrict its use, India continues to import and use asbestos at a rate that is alarming the world medical community.

 

A recent article published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, predicts that with “India’s surging consumption of asbestos, the industry’s hefty political and economic clout, and the country’s poor record of worker protection….a sizeable burden of asbestos-related disease is inevitable” leading to health consequences that “will be felt into the next century.”  These health consequences could include an epidemic of mesothelioma.

A total of forty countries have now banned chrysotile (white) asbestos, the most common form of the mineral.  (The U.S. is not one of them.)  But between 2000 and 2007, India’s importation of asbestos rose from 125,000 metric tons to about 300,000, with most of it coming from Canada.  The asbestos is primarily mixed into cement and used in all types of building applications, including the production of cement roofing tiles, making them durable, sturdy and fireproof, unlike traditional thatched roof.  Since 1960, India has imported about 7 million metric tons of asbestos.

According to the World Health Organization, at least 90 thousand people die annually worldwide from asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis or mesothelioma.  Because mesothelioma can take 30 to 50 years after exposure to develop, the number of people contracting the disease continues to rise even in countries where it has been banned.  Because India does not track its cancer cases, it is difficult to get an estimate of the asbestos-related disease problem there. Experts suggest that many cases diagnosed as bronchitis or tuberculosis may actually be an unrecognized asbestos related illnesses.

In an editorial in the UK’s online magazine The Tribune, photojournalist Neil Hodge claims to have photographed Indian children making statues with sacks of asbestos cement, unprotected and unaware of the health risks.  Hodge says an Indian television channel even reported in 2007 that asbestos was being used in parts of the country to bleach rice to make it more attractive to consumers.  According to the Indian Health officials quoted in the article, most Indian consumers do not believe that asbestos is toxic, that it can cause cancer like mesothelioma, and there is little or no enforcement of safety legislation designed to protect workers.

Speaking in The Lancet, Drexel University professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Arthur Frank, MD, PhD, warns, “We can expect a lot more death and disease [in India]. There is no champion for the working person, or for the elimination or reduction in the use of asbestos that I can see in the central Indian Government.”

Source:
  Mesothelioma

Cold Plasma Appears to Improve Mesothelioma Treatment

Adding a technique called Cold Plasma Coagulation to the mix when using surgery and intra-operative chemotherapy seems to help protect mesothelioma patients against certain complications, according to a new study.

 

Mesothelioma, a malignancy that affects the linings around the lungs and internal organs, is caused by asbestos exposure and is notoriously difficult to treat.  Depending on the stage of their cancer and their health status, most patients receive a combination of treatments which may include chemotherapy, radiation, radical surgery (Extrapleural pneumonectomy or EPP), or pleurectomy and decortication (P/D), a less radical surgical approach.  Even with these various combinations, many patients succumb to the disease within 18 months of diagnosis.

In an effort to improve mesothelioma survival rates, surgeons in recent years have begun combining pleurectomy and decortication with heated chemotherapy (hyperthermic intrathoracic chemoperfusion or HITHOC) that is washed through the effected body cavity during surgery.  While results of this combination therapy have been promising, there is the potential for damaging the pericardium (lining around the heart) or the diaphragm, leading to heart damage or the accidental spread of cancer cells into the abdomen.  

Now, researchers in Germany believe they have found a way to protect the pericardium and the diaphragm during P/D, while still allowing mesothelioma patients to benefit from the surgery and the HITHOC treatment.  In the study, Cold Plasma Coagulation (CPC) was used to destroy tumor cells on the pleura, diaphragm and pericardium before HITHOC was administered.  

Patients in the study all had Stage III pleural mesothelioma.  None of them suffered any cardiotoxic effects as the result of their treatment and none had had a recurrence of their cancer one year after surgery.  The researchers concluded that Cold Plasma Coagulation was a safe and potentially beneficial addition to a multimodal treatment approach for mesothelioma patients. 

In their abstract, the authors noted that the number of cases of mesothelioma continues to rise and is not expected reach its peak until 2015.  They caution, “We consider our trial as a pilot study. To evaluate potential survival benefits using this [Cold Plasma] technique, larger trials are mandatory.” 

The study titled “Cold-Plasma Coagulation in the Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Results of a Combined Approach”, was published in the online journal Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery.

Sources: 

  Mesothelioma News

Cold Plasma Appears to Improve Mesothelioma Treatment

Adding a technique called Cold Plasma Coagulation to the mix when using surgery and intra-operative chemotherapy seems to help protect mesothelioma patients against certain complications, according to a new study.

 

Mesothelioma, a malignancy that affects the linings around the lungs and internal organs, is caused by asbestos exposure and is notoriously difficult to treat.  Depending on the stage of their cancer and their health status, most patients receive a combination of treatments which may include chemotherapy, radiation, radical surgery (Extrapleural pneumonectomy or EPP), or pleurectomy and decortication (P/D), a less radical surgical approach.  Even with these various combinations, many patients succumb to the disease within 18 months of diagnosis.

In an effort to improve mesothelioma survival rates, surgeons in recent years have begun combining pleurectomy and decortication with heated chemotherapy (hyperthermic intrathoracic chemoperfusion or HITHOC) that is washed through the effected body cavity during surgery.  While results of this combination therapy have been promising, there is the potential for damaging the pericardium (lining around the heart) or the diaphragm, leading to heart damage or the accidental spread of cancer cells into the abdomen.  

Now, researchers in Germany believe they have found a way to protect the pericardium and the diaphragm during P/D, while still allowing mesothelioma patients to benefit from the surgery and the HITHOC treatment.  In the study, Cold Plasma Coagulation (CPC) was used to destroy tumor cells on the pleura, diaphragm and pericardium before HITHOC was administered.  

Patients in the study all had Stage III pleural mesothelioma.  None of them suffered any cardiotoxic effects as the result of their treatment and none had had a recurrence of their cancer one year after surgery.  The researchers concluded that Cold Plasma Coagulation was a safe and potentially beneficial addition to a multimodal treatment approach for mesothelioma patients. 

In their abstract, the authors noted that the number of cases of mesothelioma continues to rise and is not expected reach its peak until 2015.  They caution, “We consider our trial as a pilot study. To evaluate potential survival benefits using this [Cold Plasma] technique, larger trials are mandatory.”  

The study titled “Cold-Plasma Coagulation in the Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: Results of a Combined Approach”, was published in the online journal Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. 

Source:
  Mesothelioma

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

What is Mesothelin ?

Mesothelin is a differentiation antigen present on normal mesothelial cells and overexpressed in several human tumors, including mesothelioma and ovarian and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. 

The mesothelin gene encodes a precursor protein that is processed to yield the 40-kDa protein, mesothelin, attached to the cell membrane by a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol linkage and a 31-kDa shed fragment named megakaryocyte-potentiating factor. 

The biological function of mesothelin is not known. Mesothelin is a promising candidate for tumor-specific therapy, given its limited expression in normal tissues and high expression in several cancers. SS1(dsFv)PE38 is a recombinant anti-mesothelin immunotoxin that is undergoing clinical evaluation in patients with mesothelin-expressing tumors. 

There is evidence that mesothelin is an immunogenic protein and could be exploited as a therapeutic cancer vaccine. A soluble mesothelin variant has been identified and could be a useful tumor marker for malignant mesotheliomas.

Source:

  Mesothelin

Mesothelioma Lawyers - Important Information for Patients

Deciding to pursue legal recourse and selecting an attorney to represent you in a mesothelioma or asbestos lawsuit are important decisions that should be made carefully. The facts of your situation and the law firm you select have a dramatic impact in the outcome of your case.

The Facts of Your Situation

Some mesothelioma patients know they worked around asbestos, but many do not know how they were exposed or how often. In fact, many people are not sure if they were ever near this carcinogen. Unfortunately, there have been thousands of products that contained asbestos - cigarette filters, hair dryers, brakes, basement and roof materials, pipes, boilers, insulation, and many other products found throughout the home and at work. If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma it is more than likely that you were exposed to asbestos multiple times in your life and that this happened decades before your diagnosis.

In general, the value of your case depends on how many asbestos containing products you were exposed to, the number of identifiable defendants that still exist (many have declared bankruptcy), your age and earning capacity. And the speed of your case can depend on a number of variables including the state where you worked and lived when you were exposed to asbestos.

The Law Firm You Choose

When you have been given the news about this terrible disease, you may not feel that you have the time to deal with the legal questions - Should I talk to a lawyer? Should I file a claim? However, you should not wait too long to learn about your legal rights for at least three reasons:

1. Statutes of Limitations - There are statute of limitations which means you only have a limited time to file your case after diagnosis. The statute of limitations time period is set by individual states and varies. The clock usually starts ticking on the day of diagnosis.
   
2. Financial Pressure - A mesothelioma diagnosis can bring financial stress, less income, more expenses, and treatments that are not covered by insurance. Knowing that money may be on the way from filing a claim can bring financial relief.
   
3. Lawyers Can be Excellent Resources - The more experienced mesothelioma lawyers and law firms can often be excellent sources of information about various doctors and treatment options available for this disease.

But, picking a lawyer is serious business and you should not use TV ads as the reason to hire an attorney. Actual credentials are what counts. For example, what type of accomplishments has the law firm achieved? How committed are they to mesothelioma/asbestos cases? Are these cases a substantial part of their practice or just a small piece? How many other cases like yours have they handled?

Also, make sure you understand the fees being charges. Contingency is the term that means that the lawyer gets paid only after they collect money for you. The amount of the contingency fee that your lawyer can charge varies and is usually between 33% and 40%. It is important to discuss fees openly, ask what services they cover, how they are calculated, and whether there will be any extra charges.

Finally, for something as important as a mesothelioma lawsuit, your attorney should not only be experienced, skilled, and dedicated, but also a trusted partner who understands that your health needs always take precedence. The best lawyers are those that are not only expert at what they do, but are also caring, supportive, thoughtful and compassionate.

What is the mesothelium?

The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells: One layer immediately surrounds the organ; the other forms a sac around it. The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers, allowing moving organs (such as the beating heart and the expanding and contracting lungs) to glide easily against adjacent structures.

The mesothelium has different names, depending on its location in the body. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart.

Source:
  Mesothelioma

What is the conventional approach to treating mesothelioma?

Treatment for mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease, and the patient's age and general health. Standard treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Sometimes, these treatments are combined. Standard treatment for all but localized mesothelioma is generally not curative.  (See survival rates for median survival rates with different treatments.)

Surgery - Extrapleural pneumonectomy in selected patients with early stage disease may improve recurrence-free survival, but its impact on overall survival is unknown. Pleurectomy and decortication can provide palliative relief from symptomatic effusions, discomfort caused by tumor burden, and pain caused by invasive tumor. Operative mortality from pleurectomy/decortication is <2%, while mortality from extrapleural pneumonectomy has ranged from 6% to 30%.

Radiation/Chemotherapy - The use of radiation therapy in pleural mesothelioma has been shown to alleviate pain in the majority of patients treated; however, the duration of symptom control is short-lived. Single-agent and combination chemotherapy have been evaluated in single and combined modality studies. The most studied agent is doxorubicin, which has produced partial responses in approximately 15% to 20% of patients studied. Some combination chemotherapy regimens have been reported to have higher response rates in small phase II trials; however, the toxic effects reported are also higher, and there is no evidence that combination regimens result in longer survival or longer control of symptoms.

Alimta - The only FDA approved chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (in combination with cisplatin) is pemetrexed (Alimta). In the key clinical trial that led to its approval, Alimta was combined with another chemotherapy drug (cisplatin) and compared with cisplatin alone. The patients who received the two drugs (Alimta and cisplatin) had their cancers progress (grow/spread) in 5.7 months (median). The patients who only received cisplatin had their tumors progress in 3.9 months (median). The median survival for the patients who received both drugs was 12.1 months versus 9.3 months for cisplatin only.

For some physicians, these therapeutic gains are not impressive. For example, some have written, "For the treatment of mesothelioma, there is little evidence that current therapies (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) provide significant benefit for survival or quality of life.[R]adical treatments, occupying the 3 months after diagnosis, can take up the best 3 months that the patient might have had.Malignant mesothelioma has largely defeated treatment..."



Source:
  Mesothelioma

How is mesothelioma diagnosed?

Diagnosing mesothelioma is often difficult, because the symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions. Diagnosis begins with a review of the patient's medical history, including any history of asbestos exposure. A complete physical examination may be performed, including x-rays of the chest or abdomen and lung function tests. A CT (or CAT) scan or an MRI may also be useful.

A biopsy confirms a diagnosis of mesothelioma. In a biopsy, a surgeon or a medical oncologist removes a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope by a pathologist. (See Pathology Diagnosis to learn why some patients request a second opinion.)
Mesothelioma is described as localized if the cancer is found only on the membrane surface where it originated. It is classified as advanced if it has spread beyond the original membrane surface to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, lungs, chest wall, or abdominal organs.

Source:
  Mesothelioma

What are the symptoms of mesothelioma?

Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleura are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and abdominal pain and swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.

Source:
  Mesothelioma

Who is at increased risk for developing mesothelioma?

Since the early 1940s, millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos dust. An increased risk of developing mesothelioma was originally found among shipyard workers, people who work in asbestos mines and mills, producers of asbestos products, workers in the heating and construction industries, and other trades people. Today, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets limits for acceptable levels of asbestos exposure in the workplace. People who work with asbestos wear personal protective equipment to lower their risk of exposure.
There is evidence that family members and others living with asbestos workers have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, and possibly other asbestos-related diseases. This risk may be the result of exposure to asbestos dust brought home on the clothing and hair of asbestos workers.


Source:
  Mesothelioma

What are the risk factors for mesothelioma?

Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in the majority of cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos.
Source:
  Mesothelioma