Tag Archives: Lung

Meso Cancer

Computed Tomography Screening for Mesothelioma Finds Asbestos-Related Lung Disease, According to Surviving Mesothelioma

Recent Tomography Research for Mesothelioma

The original study is published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography (Carrillo, MC, et al, Low-Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) in Workers Previously Exposed to Asbestos: Detection of parenchymal Lung Disease, July-August, 2013, Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, pp. 626-630).

Recent research study reports that a lower dose of the same technology often used to diagnose mesothelioma may be able to help identify other asbestos-related lung diseases in people at risk for the deadly cancer.Tomography and Mesothelioma

Tomography in Canada for Mesothelioma

A study in Canada states that it tested the value of Low-Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) for lung disease in asbestos-exposed workers.  The individuals were being screened for lung cancer or mesothelioma.  The Canadian research study focused on 315 baseline LDCT examinations of the chests of participants with at least 20 years of exposure to asbestos. Also included in the analysis were people who were found to have pleural plaques on X-ray (these are areas of calcification on the lung lining caused by asbestos).

The average age of the study participants was just under 62. All had been exposed to asbestos in an occupational setting for an average of 26.9 years. Forty-four percent of participants (140 people) had what were called parenchymal findings, or evidence of abnormalities in their lung tissue. Although such parenchymal findings do not necessarily indicate the presence of lung cancer or mesothelioma, they can be early evidence of a developing problem.

Study participants with parenchymal findings were like patients with mesothelioma in that they tended to be older (average age of 65.3) and have longer-than-average asbestos exposure (average of 29.73 years).  While many participants were also smokers, there was no statistical difference in parenchymal findings between those who smoked and those who did not.

The study concluded that LDCT can be a valuable way to detect early signs of lung disease in people who have no symptoms but are considered at high risk. Like lung cancer and mesothelioma, parenchymal lung diseases are most treatable when detected early. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is almost never found early because it tends not to produce any noticeable symptoms until it is in its later stages.

Because asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, some have suggested the LDCT should be a regular part of health maintenance for all asbestos workers. The current study is further evidence of the value of the technology. Although mesothelioma is often treatment-resistant, it is more responsive to therapy before it has spread beyond the pleural lining and invaded the lungs or lymph nodes.

More Mesothelioma Cancer Press Releases

Meso Cancer, Meso Causes

Genetic Predisposition and Susceptibility: How to Get Mesothelioma Cancer?

 

Recent researchers studying mesothelioma cancer are proposing a genetic component to this aggressive cancer long associated with asbestos.  Dr. Jill Ohar MD at Wake Forest School of Medicine reported in 2010 at an International Symposium about her research that supported the possibility that people who develop mesothelioma may have a genetic predisposition and susceptibility.

Between 1940 and 1980, asbestos was commonly used as a material in the construction, particularly in shipbuilding, aircraft fabrication, plumbing, insulation, railroad and automotive brakes and clutches, ceiling tile, floor tile, drywall, fireproofing materials, cement, and many, many other uses.  It is estimated that 40% of U.S. employees or nearly 27 million Americans , have been unknowingly exposed to asbestos in their place of work; even when employers and manufacturers of asbestos products knew the danger.  Fortunately, many of the persons exposed to asbestos have not developed mesothelioma cancer.  So, the frequency of new mesothelioma cases identified in recent years has stabilized at a constant of approximately 3,000 per year.

Because so few persons who have been exposed to asbestos develop mesothelioma cancer leads researchers to wonder why and ask what could differ among workers who have experienced equal exposure to asbestos?  Why does a majority of asbestos exposed workers not develop mesothelioma cancer, and the remainder do?

Dr. Ohar and fellow researchers studied a database of 5,000 people who have been exposed to asbestos in which only 6.5% or 327 incurred the mesothelioma cancer.  The researchers questioned all 5,000 individuals regarding their exposure to asbestos at work and at home, and about the status of their health.  The answers reveal some interesting patterns:

  • Age of first exposure: those workers who developed mesothelioma tended to be younger at their first exposure to asbestos. In the 1940’s, they were the young men and women who volunteered out of high school, at age 17 or 18 to join the military, or work in defense industries. Cells in younger people tend to be more vulnerable to carcinogenic (cancer-causing) agents.  Even a few years’ delay, time spent in college or in work that did not involve exposure to asbestos, seems to have had a protective effect.
  • Military service: Mesothelioma patients were more likely to have served in the military.  Service in the military increased the odds of exposure to asbestos.
  • Other cancer diagnoses: Mesothelioma patients were three times more likely than other workers exposed to asbestos to have had another cancer diagnosis at the time of diagnosis of their mesothelioma.  This suggests a greater vulnerability, probably genetically mediated, to carcinogenic agents.
  • Cancer in first-order relatives: People diagnosed with mesothelioma were also three times more likely than other workers exposed to asbestos to have a first-order relative (a parent, a brother or a sister, or a child) who had a cancer diagnosis.  Children of people with a mesothelioma diagnosis were seven times more likely to have a cancer diagnosis.

The conclusion, based on Dr. Ohar’s study, is that getting mesothelioma cancer caused by exposure to asbestos could possibly be attributed to a genetic predisposition and susceptibility to cancer-causing agents.  Genetic susceptibility alone does not determine a diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer; and exposure to asbestos does not always assure that a person will get mesothelioma cancer.  However, the combination of asbestos exposure, especially at a young age, with genetic predisposition and susceptibility increases the likelihood of a person developing mesothelioma cancer.

If you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos fibers, especially in the workplace, and has received a diagnosis of mesothelioma, you need to consult with an experienced asbestos mesothelioma lawyer to determine whether you may have an actionable case against the employer.

Related Mesothelioma Articles

Meso Treatments, Press Releases, Stories & News

Jeff Davis- Lung Cancer Mesothelioma Remission with the use of Marine Phytoplankton

The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America and our staff are constantly looking for news of recent trials and methods being attempted to find a cure to mesothelioma cancer. During a recent study, we came across these two (2) videos on YouTube regarding mesothelioma treatments. We have not tested or tried these methods, and we do NOT endorse nor do we prescribe these methods, but rather bring them to your attention that you may ask your oncologist and other medical advisers about these options.

Mesothelioma Remission When Using Marine Phytoplankton

Jeff Davis receives a surprise phone call asking him about his use of Marine Phytoplankton (which he refers to as “medicine”). He had Mesothelioma lung cancer to the point of spitting up blood every night and could hardly walk a short distance with out running out of breath.  After eight days of taking Marine Phytoplankton he said he no longer was spitting up blood, could breathe much easier and could work construction all day again without stopping. We too thought this was too good to be true, but the following conversation sounds very real and convincing!

More information on how to Win The Fight Against Cancer Naturally at the website:

www.winthefightagainstcancernaturally.org

Urgent need to identify new drugs to face peak of cases in 10 years

The next video is an interview with Dr. Fortunato Ciardiello, MD, PhD about the use of Vorinostat in patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma (VANTAGE 014).

This interview by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America was founded in 2001 with a mission: fund research that leads to the quickest and surest cure for mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure. This cancer disease had few treatment options until this MesoRFA.org and Dr. Parkash Gill’s work created better treatment options. Today, the future looks more hopeful for additional improved treatment options available to those stricken by this cancer.

Submit your mesothelioma questions to Ask Dr. Parkash Gill to receive the oncologist’s Free response and opinion.

 

Press Releases

National Asbestos Awareness Week with a New Hope for a Mesothelioma Treatment

National Asbestos Awareness Week will begin this year the first week of April.  Non-profit groups like the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America (MesoRFA) and the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) use this week to increase public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and the mesothelioma treatments available for the cancer caused by asbestos particle inhalation.

On March 9, 2011, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and cosponsors introduced and passed US Senate Resolution 63 – 112th Congress.  This resolution (SR-63) designates the first week of April 2011 as National Asbestos Awareness Week. It urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate people about asbestos exposure, which may be hazardous to their health.  Senator Baucus began his crusade to abolish asbestos use in 1999 when he wrote a letter to then Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala requesting immediate medical help and assistance for his home state area of Libby, Montana.  Libby is a city that no one wants to live in because 1 in 8 residents has some kind of asbestos related ailments and estimates put the number of deaths related to asbestos mining at over 200.  The city once boomed from the mining of vermiculite (an asbestos containing mineral) but now it has a growing number of the town’ residents being sickened by asbestos released in the air.   The mine has been closed since 1990.

In 2002 EPA investigators found Libby, Montana to be contaminated with asbestos and began the process of containing the city.  The EPA attempted to declare a Public Health Emergency in Libby that was thwarted by the previous Federal Government Administration’s Office of Management and Budget.  Senator Baucus reported this failure in 2008, and on June 17, 2009, due in large part to Baucus’ reporting efforts, the EPA finally declared its first ever public health emergency in Libby, Montana.

Groups like MesoRFA and ADOA combine medical research, public and patient education, family advocacy and community support to compel a national and global rallying outcry for all nations to abolish asbestos mining and its use in manufactured products.  Additionally, the groups seek to increase public awareness of the suffering experienced by patients with mesothelioma with the hope to fund research and find the quickest cure to this cancer disease caused by exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos is a carcinogen to humans and exposure to it can cause diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.  Research and studies from the World Health Organization (2004) provide estimates about asbestos-related disease from occupational exposure.  Their results counted 107,000 deaths and 1,523,000 DALYs where a Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) is defined as the measure of overall disease burden expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.  Other studies estimate during the next decade around the world there will be 300 deaths per day from asbestos related disease.

The ADOA will be having their 7th Annual Asbestos Awareness Conference (April 1 – 3, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia) and will bring leading international experts together to discuss the impact of asbestos on public health, the environment, and the economy.   This organization seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure. It is an independent global organization with a mission dedicated to stop asbestos use and preventing asbestos-related.

The MesoRFA compliments the ADOA objectives with their mission to fund medical research leading to the quickest cure for mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure. This cancer disease had few treatment options until recent research work created better options for mesothelioma treatments with the drug, Veglin. Today, the future looks very hopeful with improved treatment to those stricken by asbestos-caused mesothelioma cancer.

Many oncologists project the average post-diagnostic malignant mesothelioma survival time in sufferers is between one and two years. Also, traditional mesothelioma treatments have had no success in eradicating the disease and have produced limited success in extending a patient’s survival time. Therefore, new and experimental mesothelioma treatments have become increasingly popular as an option for cancer sufferers.

A new approach in finding a mesothelioma cure is a drug called Veglin being studied by Dr. Gill at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Veglin is one of several newly developed non-chemotherapy drugs being tested in the ongoing struggle to combat malignant mesothelioma. The new drug is an anti-angiogenesis agent that works by cutting off the blood supply that cancer cells need in order to grow. Veglin is currently in the last part of Phase II Clinical Trials with the FDA and Phase III trials should begin sometime in 2011.  Mesothelioma sufferers interested in taking part in the next clinical trial should talk with their doctor, and are encouraged to contact Dr. Parkash Gill for more information on Veglin and the trials to be had nationally.

Everyone is encouraged to participate in the national observation of Asbestos Awareness Week.  Like the American Cancer Society, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and non-profit groups like the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America (MesoRFA) and the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), let us all use this week to increase public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and available mesothelioma treatments, because everyone wants to see less cancer and more birthdays!