Tag Archives: Treatment

Meso Cancer, Meso Treatments, Press Releases, Stories & News

Oncologists, Genetic Testing and How To Target Cancer Tumors

Cancer Research is going in an entirely new direction based on genetic testing where tailored treatments can now focus on and cancer and genetic testingtarget specific cancer tumors.

And to demonstrate this, we will review a recent (2014) success story from a young man (23-years) who submitted by faith and determination to the investigative process of genetic testing with tailored drug treatments for cancer cure.

Original story:  Wall Street Journal: March 28, 2016 

In February 2014, after a lengthy struggle with a head-cold, nosebleeds and body fatigue, Evan Johnson, a senior student at the University of North Dakota, decided to visit the Mayo Clinic when he began to have bruises and chest pain.

Genetic testing at the Mayo Clinic discovered an acute form of Myeloid Leukemia; a cancer disease that forms, grows, and can  spread quickly through out the body.

Fortunate for Mr. Johnson, oncologists today are taking new directions with genetic testing to discover ways to make strong  offensive action against cancer.  The doctors know cancer can evolve to resist treatment(s), and they now use these complications as potential advantages to identify alternate cancer targets they can use different drug treatments on, as the cancer changes.

(Related Science)

The medical team working at the Mayo Clinic on Johnson’s case moved quickly in their investigative research to discover several effective treatments to use against the cancer genetic mutations that were pushing his disease.  While his end story is successful, Evan had to endure a failed stem cell transplant, six various  prescribed courses of medical treatment,  four cancer relapses and other life-threatening problems that occurred when treatment went beyond the desired effect.

For Evan’s mother, Carol Johnson:

We truly felt like we were in a war.  We didn’t know where the [cancer] enemy was at any given moment and what means [the cancer] was going to use to attack us next.

After nine months into his cancer treatment, Evan’s leukemia evolved and developed a new mutation, unexpectedly!  The change allowed the cancer to escape the cure of the treatment being administered.  But, the deviation in the cancer gave his oncologists  a new target that was vulnerable to other cancer fighting drugs.  Mr. Johnson’s doctors modified and fine-tuned their treatment for him and managed to defeat the leukemia; which cleared the way for Evan to receive a second, successful stem cell transplant. Consequently, Evan Johnson has been cancer free for more than a year.

Genetic Testing: Cancer Treatment’s
New Direction

Dr. Pashtoon Kasi, an oncologist at the Rochester,Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, is a team-member that assisted in Evan Johnson’s medical care.  Dr. Kasi says the medical team could see the cancer evolution  happen by regular genetic testing, which allowed Mr. Johnson’s treatment to be customized to his particular need.  “Personalization in real time… This is where oncology is headed down the line,” says Dr. Pashtoon Kasi.

According to Dr. Jose Baselga, chief physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York:

A decade ago, we were shooting in the dark.  If first-line or second-line treatments failed, we either had nothing to do next, or what we did was totally disconnected with the biology of the disease.

With today’s technology cancer patients with advanced forms of the disease can be treated at major health centers, expecting their tumors to be genetic sequenced.  The genetic testing provides a Genetic Testing Targets Cancer Mutationshope in finding a match to the many new drugs that target exactly and stop the cancer mutations that stimulate the cancer’s growth.  Good matches can produce excellent results with dramatic effect at reducing tumors, but “precision drug treatment” is not always a cure.  Sometimes the treatment is thwarted when a tumor evolves.  This forces oncologists to seek the identity of new mutations that can be stopped with effective treatment.

Oncologists, Genetic Testing and New Cancer Treatments: A Game of Whack-a-Mole

The research process of identifying new mutations and matching the next precision drug treatment to stop cancer growth is.. “like a Whack-a-Mole game,” according to Dr. Baselga.  Each attempt to solve the cancer problem is piece-meal resulting only in temporary or minor improvement.  And as new mutations occur, the medical strategy is to find a new treatment (hammer) to hit it with.

But the real challenge to this approach of medical treatment is finding drugs that treat cancer-causing mutations; there just aren’t that many, yet.  For example, a drug found that works on a patient with melanoma might not be successful on a colon-cancer patient, even if they have the same mutation.  And, sometimes a drug that is not yet approved for the type of cancer being treated is suggested based upon DNA tests that match the tumor mutation, which jeopardizes the possibility of compensation for expensive drugs.

Regarding this method of cancer treatment, Dr. Kasi says:

It’s not for every patient or [form of] cancer.  But as we develop more drugs and understand more [treatment] pathways, it would be a reasonable option for a lot of our patients.

Evan Johnson returned to his home after spending 17 months at the Mayo Clinic enduring medical Whack-a-Mole, being released with a good chance of sustained, durable remission of Myeloid Leukemia and the cancer’s genetic mutations.

An account of Evan’s case has been published by Dr. Pashtoon M. Kasi, Mark R. Litzow, Mrinal M. Patnaik, Shahrukh K. Hashmi, and Naseema Gangat in the journal:

Leukema Research Reports (January 2016)

 

Meso Treatments, Press Releases, Stories & News

GRAPHENE strips as “flying carpets” deliver cancer cure drugs

GRAPHENE – New Research
That May Help Mesothelioma Victims

Graphene-molecule

An international team of researchers has developed a drug delivery technique that utilizes GRAPHENE strips as “flying carpets” to deliver drugs to cancer cells.  The technique was found to perform better well when tested in a mouse model targeting a human lung cancer tumor.

Graphene Tests Succeed

GRAPHENE successfully proved itself in lab tests against six kinds of cancer cells. Flaked Graphene oxide preferentially hits these cancers right in the stem cells.

The Graphene strip works when a cancer drug treatment can be physically integrated and bound to it because of similar molecular structures of Graphene and the drug.  So, various drug treatments can be attached to the surface of the Graphene by a combination of amino acids known as peptides.

Dr. Parkish Gill, on behalf of the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America will determine if there is a way to apply and proceed with his non-chemotherapy treatments using the Graphene strip technique.

Click this link to read the complete story

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EphB4, Meso Treatments, Press Releases, Stories & News

New Drug Targets Cancer Caused By Asbestos

May 26, 2014

Mesothelioma lung cancer can come to those persons who loved, and simply hugged their parent who worked around asbestos.  For example, now at age 45, Heather Von St. James recalls her father working as a building demolition employee around materials containing asbestos.  He would return home each day thoroughly covered by dirt and dust. She remembers how much she enjoyed hugging her father each night.mesothelioma-studies

By age 36, Heather was diagnosed with mesothelioma, the deadly yet to be cured cancer connected with exposure to asbestos particles.  Mesothelioma can take decades to develop and it often kills within months after symptoms appear. Heather was a new mother to a 3-month-old daughter, and she was told her only chance to live was by having a lung removed.

In 2013, more than 107,000 people died worldwide from mesothelioma.  However, Heather opted for the surgery instead, and removed the disease in time to stay alive.   According to Ms. St. James, “There’s a lot of people who don’t.”

Fortunately for other people with mesothelioma, or those that will discover they have the deadly disease, a new wave of drugs developed and being tested are giving new hope that mesothelioma cancer may be slowed or stopped.  Drug researchers, like Verastem Inc. (VSTM), GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), and Dr. Parkash Gill of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center have announced that they are testing new cancer fighting drugs.

According to Dean Fennell, a lead researcher doing a trial study with a new drug by Verastem:

“[Mesothelioma] is not a curable cancer; it’s not a disease that can be wiped out completely by surgery as you see with lung cancer. Finding ways to stop that process or slow it down can have big implications for patient survival.”

Unlike lung cancers, Mesothelioma affects the cell tissues that cover the lungs.  It can also affect the tissues around the heart and abdominal organs.  Like all cancers, mesothelioma is treated by doctors with cutting the cancer tissue out, or irradiating it, but both methods sometimes have dangerous side effects.

New Drugs Offer New Hope to Replace Old Treatments

Verastem (based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts) has developed a drug (VS-6063) that is now in late-stage human testing. Consecutively, Glaxo (based out of London) has a compound that is being tried in combination with another product in an early-stage study. The drugs from these two companies each target an enzyme involved in cell movement that permits the cancer to spread.

The enzyme is a key marker of aggressive cancers and is overabundant in many tumors that spread quickly. Also, patients with an inactive gene called Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) respond well to the test drugs being developed where nearly half of mesothelioma patients have inactive NF2s.

In the U.S. and Europe, the VS-6063 treatment has been granted orphan drug status.  This means that Verastem with their VS-6063 product is given seven (7) years of exclusive marketing.  A Bloomberg report states that according to four (4) analysts, the VS-6063 drug could possibly generate $450 million in sales by 2019 if the product is cleared for public use.

Earliest Stage

Defactinib is the medicine that targets early stage cancer stem cells.  These are considered to be theorigin of the cancer and frequently are resistant to existing therapies.   The cancer stem cells for mesothelioma are known to be particularly resistant to chemotherapy.

Now, Mr. Dean Fennell does not have an economic connection with Verastem, nor is he a paid consultant to the company.  And yet, Mr. Fennell (who is chairman of thoracic medical oncology at the University of Leicester in England) stated during an interview:

“The hope is we can suppress the cancer in such a way that it becomes a more chronic disease, rather than have a disease that’s going to progress relentlessly and kill the patient”

Verastem with a market value of about $215 million is developing the drug assisted by several renowned pharmaceutical companies providing guidance. The development team includes former Genzyme Corp. CEO Henri Termeer; Human Genome Project leader Eric Lander; and Phillip Sharp, a Nobel laureate at Biogen Idec Inc.

Other Drug Combinations

Under a license from Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca Plc of London is testing a drug called tremelimumab, on mesothelioma in a mid-stage trial. The treatment works differently from the other developmental drugs in that it helps the patient’s immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.  According to

Carolyn Buser-Doepner (VP for tumor signaling at Glaxo, the U.K.’s biggest drugmaker), there are plans to combine a new drug GSK2256098 with some other medicines to potentially make cancer treatments more effective.  In one early-stage trial, it will be paired up with Glaxo’s Mekinist, which is approved for melanoma.  She said, “The pre-clinical data are very encouraging. We’re very excited about it.”

Boehringer’s Drug

A fourth drug, nintedanib from Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, is in early-stage testing for mesothelioma, according to a spokesman. Unlike the previous mentioned medicines, this one works by targeting proteins directly related to the formation of blood vessels that feed tumors.

According to the director of research at the British Lung Foundation, Noel Snell, the kind of research studies most likely to yield improvements in cancer care are those that investigate the nature of the disease itself.  Still, treatments being tested today on mesothelioma are most encouraging.

Snell said in a statement:

“It is shameful that this kind of fundamental research remains so drastically underfunded, and that the number of trials available for mesothelioma patients is still dwarfed so dramatically by the number available to other cancer patients.”

Dr. Gill and EphB4 Treatment

For several years, Dr. Parkash Gill of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center has proceeded with Phase I Clinical Trials with the new cancer fighting drug Eph-B4 made available to qualifying mesothelioma patients. With generous support from the Mesothelioma Research
Foundation of America, the initial Phase I Trial Eph-B4 has been available to newly diagnosed patients who have not Ask Dr. Gill about the most recent clinical trials avaialbleundergone any conventional lung cancer treatment options, as well as those patients who have exhausted all other treatment options such as surgery and chemotherapy.

The results of these recent clinical trials have truly been exciting as Dr. Gill reports that Eph-B4 is showing great promise as a solo treatment, or in conjunction with other drugs like Alimta, Cisplatin and Carboplatin.

The research of Dr. Gill, in conjunction with similar studies by other Oncologists, have improved the understanding among Primary Care physicians about the detection process, and given them better options to offer patients with lung cancer including mesothelioma.

Eph-B4 as a Better Treatment

Treatments have also gotten better because we now understand two principles: a)molecular changes in lung cancer with very specific mutations; and b)medication (like Eph-B4) that is specific to addressing the treatment of only one cellular abnormality.

As Dr. Gill with the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America continues the goal to make mesothelioma a disease of the past, our understanding of the human body immune system has also improved.    From this we have Eph-B4, an immune specific treatment that assists a patient with lung cancer to live longer with fewer side effects.

His studies have contributed to the evolution of mesothelioma cancer research over the last decade.  Collectively, researchers are producing a canonical story in which the range of research works has grown a consensus among recognized oncologists and Primary Care physicians of a “great” or “major” break through with the two principles mentioned above.  Basically, we can now identify subsets of cancer in a patient at the molecular level and bring a retardant treatment (immunity) to that cancer in those patients.  And this observation continues to this day to be repeated by many research projects.  More than ever before, researchers continue to identify specific cancer mutations and use similar drugs to shut down these cancers and improve patient survival.

Asbestos: The Miracle Fiber That Kills

Asbestos was named the “miracle fiber,” but has become the topic and issue of many lawsuits claiming losses as well as damages from illness caused by asbestos products.  It was commonly used in building materials such as insulation for years because it was cheap, abundant and heat-resistant.

Many countries have banned asbestos mining.  However, the World Health Organization estimates that as many as 125 million people worldwide continue to be exposed to asbestos either at work or in their homes because it continues to be mined and made into  products from in Russia, China and India.

Unfortunately, mesothelioma cancer can lay dormant for as long as 50 years before spreading, which explains why rates have risen long after many countries have banned the asbestos.

New cases of mesothelioma cancer in the United Kingdom, where asbestos was restricted starting in the 1980s and outlawed fully in 2006, were 2,125 in 2012.  These numbers are expected to peak in 2015.  In the United States, the number of new cancer cases has been stable, hovering around 3,000 per year since 2000.  This stability was expected because of extensive efforts put into public education.  Still, a complete ban of Asbestos in the U.S. was overturned in the courts.  One of the world’s largest asbestos exporters, Canada, closed its remaining mines in 2011.

An Asian Asbestos Mesothelioma Cancer ‘Tsunami’

In Japan, asbestos was banned in 2006, the Japanese government pays the full cost of treatment for related illnesses, and rate of new cases of cancer are predicted to continue rising until 2027.  The director of a World Health Organization occupational health group, Ken Takahashi, has warned Asian governments to prepare themselves for an “asbestos tsunami.”

Again, Dean Fennell reminds us:

 “In the early ’70s, this was an incredibly rare disease. Now my clinic is full of patients with mesothelioma. Because the rates are increasing, we have a real need now to identify effective treatment.”

A cure for mesothelioma can not be found fast enough.  Still, there are survivors like Heather Von St. James, who breaths with great effort during Minnesota winters with her one remaining lung, and she volunteers her time to be a coach to other mesothelioma patients.   By her personal experience with mesothelioma, she wants other victims of mesothelioma to understand:

 “If they can keep it under control,
that’s the first hope.”

 

Meso Treatments, Press Releases, Stories & News

Phase II Clinical Trials of CRS-207 New Cancer Vaccine Begin

CRS-207 Clinical Trials Proceed

The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America is pleased to announce that Aduro Bio Tech has begun conducting phase II clinical trials on a new cancer vaccine called CRS-207.  Aduro Bio Tech has enlisted the first group of mesothelioma patients that will take the experimental vaccine.CRS-207 mesothelioma vaccination

CRS-207 comes from a relatively new field of study called Immunology that has recently been at the forefront of mesothelioma research.  Immunology is the practice of working with the bodys natural immune system to succor the body and manipulate its ability to ward off cancer cells. CRS-207 is classified as a type of immunotherapy.

CRS-207 Boosting the immune system

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), cancer vaccines stimulate the immune system to attack diseased cells that are marked by specific antigens.  Using CRS-207, scientists also hope that this reaction will cause the immune system to remember the malignancy and prevent it from coming back.

Therapeutic vaccines are typically formulated with cancer cells, parts of cells or antigens, according to the ACS.  Aduro’s candidate treatment CRS-207 uses proprietary attenuated Listeria monocytogenes strains to trigger an immune response against mesothelin tumor-associated antigen. This protein can be found on tumors associated with mesothelioma, non-small-cell lung cancer and malignancies of the ovaries and pancreas.

The new CRS-207 drug is a derivative from a weakened version of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that is the cause of a food-born illness known as Listeriosis. Scientists have manipulated the bacteria in order to generate an immune response to stop cells from producing mesothelin, a tumor-associated antigen that is produced by various types of cancer cells including those produced by mesothelioma.

Phase I of the CRS-207 vaccine trials was concluded on 17 mesothelioma patients, all of who were in various stages of the mesothelioma disease.  Although mesothelioma patients in the advanced stages face a very short life expectancy of a few months, six out of 17 patients who took the CRS-207 vaccine lived 15 months or longer.

Phase II trials will have newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients begining treatment by receiving two CRS-207 vaccinations in addition to the traditional mesothelioma chemotherapy treatment of cisplatin with pemetrexed. Once chemotherapy has concluded, the patients with receive at least two more doses of CRS-207. A group of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer will also participate in phase two trials.

Dr. Scott Antonia of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida and Dr. Raffit Hassan of the National Cancer Institute are leading the clinical trials. Phase II trials of CRS-207 will center on testing for safety and efficacy in efforts to create the best dosage profile. Patients in the early stages of mesothelioma are currently being enrolled, with trials set to end by December 13th.

The study of Immunotherapy has been an expanding topic among leading mesothelioma researchers, with several recent developments yielding positive results among patients. Asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma have long been plagued with low survival rates.  Several recent developments in Immunology have produced new hope among the mesothelioma community as well as other groups in the fight against mesothelioma cancer.

More Mesothelioma Cancer Press Releases

Other Alternative CRS-207 Treatments for Mesothelioma

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Meso Cancer

REVIEW: WHAT IS MESOTHELIOMA?

MESOTHELIOMA: What is it?

Mesothelioma is a rare kind of malignant cancer that arises from the cells, lining the sacs of the chest (the pleura) or the abdomen (the peritoneum). Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type usually creating symptoms within the chest space. Peritoneal mesothelioma is not common which affects the organs within the abdomen with symptoms that are associated with this body space including abdominal swelling, nausea, vomiting, and bowel obstruction. The rarest form of mesothelioma cancer is pericardial mesothelioma which involves the sac surrounding the guts.  Based on the shape of the mesothelioma cells, the specific type of mesothelioma can be diagnosed.  There are three kinds of mesothelioma cells:  epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic.mesothelioma-symptoms

MESOTHELIOMA: What Are The Causes?

Exposure to asbestos particles is the primary cause for mesothelioma cancer.  A person can get exposed by inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers, which usually become airborne when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed as in broken for removal.  When microscopic fibers are inhaled, they’ll become lodged within the lining of the lungs and these stuck fibers fester for 15-40 years until they become recognized as pleural mesothelioma.  When asbestos is ingested, the fibers will become lodged within the lining of the abdomen and eventually cause  peritoneal mesothelioma.

MESOTHELIOMA: What Are The Symptoms?

The symptoms for mesothelioma cancer vary depending on the type and the cancer’s location.   Because the various forms of the cancer are similarity, several symptoms are common and overlapping. Many patients with mesothelioma will experience shortness of breath and general fatigue.  Additionally, acute pain can occur within the chest for patients with pleural and pericardial mesothelioma, and within the abdominal region for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma.

MESOTHELIOMA: What Are The Treatments?

There are several kinds of treatment for patients with malignant mesothelioma, and sometimes they are used in combinations of two or a lot of of those are combined within the course of treatment.

  • Surgery: a pleurectomy is the surgical removal of part of the chest or abdomen lining and some of the tissues around it.  Sometimes when the mesothelioma cancer has consumed too much tissue, a lung may also be removed in an operation known as a pneumonectomy.
  • Radiation Therapy: using high-dose X-rays or alternative high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Two types of radiation therapy include: external radiation where a machine outside the body is used, and internal radiation using radioisotopes where putting materials that turn out radiation through skinny tubes inserted into the body space where the cancer cells are located.
  • Chemotherapy:  using chemotherapeutic agents as medication to fight the cancer.  These drugs are administered in one of two ways; 1)systemically through the bloodstream or 2)intrapleurally in the pleural cavity.  When it’s administered intrapleurally, the treatment is localized at the location of the tumor. Some of these medication are very toxic, so you must discuss their use thoroughly with your doctor.
  • Clinical Trials of new treatments, some non-chemotherapy.

To learn more about mesothelioma cure research and discuss clinical trial options with Dr. Gill.

Related Mesothelioma Articles

Meso Cancer, Meso Treatments, Press Releases, Stories & News

Mesothelioma Treatment Stages

Mesothelioma is the term used for a cancerous tumor, which involves the mesothelioma cells of lungs, heart or abdominal organs. Mesothelioma medical experts provide treatment to a patient after assessing the developmental stage of the cancer in patient’s particular case.  The location of the cancer, the level to which it is spread and the age and general health condition of the patient are analyzed by the medical specialist.

Four Stages of Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which the malignant cells are found in the sac that lines the chest or abdomen. There are four stages of malignant mesothelioma.
mesothelioma

Stage One – Localized Mesothelioma

The first stage is localized mesothelioma and the remaining three are considered advanced stages of mesothelioma. Localized mesothelioma is the phase wherein the cancer is discovered in the lung, diaphragm or in the lining of the chest cavity. The patients in their first stage of mesothelioma get their cancer surgically removed by pleurectomy or decortication or extrapleural pneumonectomy.

Stage Two

In the second stage, the cancer is detected to have spread beyond the lining of the chest cavity.

Stage Three

In the third stage, the tumor growth spreads into several areas that include chest wall, center of the chest, heart, and throughout the diaphragm. The treatment in the second, third and fourth stages of mesothelium are done in tandem with supportive care. The treatment for these advanced stages focuses on providing a patient with relief from symptoms, as total cure is generally not achieved. The treatment methodology includes thoracentesis that removes fluid accumulation in the chest cavity, operations to remove the tumor and radiation therapy or chemotherapy aimed at easing symptoms.

Stage Four

In the fourth stage, the cancer is in the process of distant metastasis, which implies that it has spread to other organs and tissues far from its site of origin in the pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial mesothelium. Patients suffering from the fourth stage should enroll themselves in clinical trials that evaluate the newest treatment possibilities in large medical centers. Pain management is an essential aspect of the care of such patients. It is important for patients to know that medications are available to effectively treat pain due to mesothelioma. They should request pain medications or discuss pain control problems with their cancer care team.

Discover more about treatment options, and in particular clinical trials for mesothelioma at the web site for Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America.

MesoRFA.org provides detailed information on Mesothelioma Treatment, Mesothelioma Treatment Options, Alternative Mesothelioma Treatment, New Mesothelioma Treatment and more.

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Radical Mesothelioma Treatment Can Save Lives

radical mesothelioma treatment is new treatment in research

Mesothelioma Treatment Challenges

The challenge posed by mesothelioma is great and doctors as well as researchers are looking for new options of mesothelioma treatment. Radical mesothelioma treatment, sometimes called experimental treatment, are simply new advancements in mesothelioma treatment.  Occasionally, these treatments are used along with traditional treatments, other times they are used alone.  Because radical mesothelioma treatment is new, the effectiveness of treatment and side effects are unknown.

If you have mesothelioma and are interested in trying a radical mesothelioma treatment, find and sign up for a clinical trial or clinical study.  A clinical trial is a rigorously controlled test using new medicine or a new medical device on human subjects.  When provided in the U.S., clinical trials of an experimental mesothelioma treatment is conducted with the supervision of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before the treatment is made available to common public use.

Examples of Radical Mesothelioma Treatment

Gene therapy, immuno therapy, photo-dynamic therapy are examples of radical mesothelioma treatment.

Gene therapy is the modification or replacement of missing or damaged genes in the cancer cells of a mesothelioma patient with functional ones.  This mesothelioma treatment methods differ according to the types of genes used and the methods used to inject them into tissues.

Immuno therapy is the mesothelioma treatment that uses natural substances which the body uses to fight infection and disease. This treatment is generally used along with other treatments to strengthen the mesothelioma patient’s immune system. In this procedure, artificial immune system proteins are sometimes injected to stimulate a patient’s normal ability to fight sickness.

Photodynamic therapy involves a drug which is stimulated by a photosensitizing agent.

Finally, there are complementary and alternative holistic medicine methods sometimes used to treat or alleviate cancer symptoms.  These methods are not considered as valid by many in the medical profession; however numerous patients and alternative healers think these practices are very effective. Acupuncture, herbs, homeopathy, therapeutic massage and Eastern medicines are some of the alternative options.

 A Life Saved With New Mesothelioma Treatment

 

 

Additional clinical trial information about mesothelioma treatment

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Mesothelioma Treatment Options – asbestos causes mesothelioma cancer

Mesothelioma Treatment Option – cancer mesothelioma asbestos

Mesothelioma is a cancer which affects the tissue which surrounds and protects various organs in the body. This tissue is called the Mesothelium, and Mesothelioma causes it to become abnormal, divide without control, and invade and damage nearby organs.

The most common form is pleural mesothelioma which affects the sac that lines the chest cavity and protects the lungs (the pleura). Other forms are peritoneum mesothelioma (which affects the abdominal cavity) and pericardium mesothelioma (affecting the lining around the heart). The tumours can be either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) although they are most often malignant.

Mesothelioma Causes

Mesothelioma is caused by the inhalation of asbestos, a fibrous carcinogenic.

These fibres lodge themselves in the lining of the lung affecting the mesothelial cells. Sometimes they cause scarring of the lungs (which is called asbestosis) but this is not cancerous. They can, however, trigger tumour growth between 20 to 50 years after they are inhaled (the average is 35 to 40 years). Asbestos fibres which are swallowed can reach the lining of the abdominal cavity where they play a part in causing peritoneal mesothelioma.

It is generally the case that the longer or more intense the exposure to asbestos the more likely Mesothelioma is to occur. However, there are cases of people getting Mesothelioma years after having worked with it for just a few months. The families of asbestos workers are also at risk as they would possibly have been exposed to asbestos fibres on the clothing of their loved ones.

The dangers of asbestos have not always been as well known as they are today.  Before the 1970s asbestos was a primary insulating material with little or no control in its use or handling. The resulting increase in cases of Mesothelioma is a direct cause of these past practices.

Mesothelioma Symptoms

Mesothelioma is often well advanced before symptoms are recognized.   Consequently, the prognosis for the disease is usually poor with the common survival time for all stages of Malignant Mesothelioma being about one year.  Mesothelioma symptoms resemble pneumonia, which coughs, breathing difficulties and abdominal pain being common.

Mesothelioma Treatments

Mesothelioma can be treated by chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery, or a combination of the three.

  • Mesothelioma Surgery Treatment

Extra pleural pneumonectomy is where the entire lung and a portion of the lining of the chest, the diaphragm, and some or the entire sac which surrounds the heart is removed.

Wide local excision targets and removes the cancer and a limited amount of the healthy tissue surrounding the cancerous region.

Pleurectomy and decortication removes part of the covering of the lungs, as well as the lining of the chest and portions of the outside covering of the lungs.

  • Mesothelioma Chemotherapy Treatment

Pleurodesis uses a blend of chemicals and/or drugs to create an intentional scar between the layers of the pleura. Post surgery, the space created by the scar must be drained, using either a catheter or chest tube, and is then filled with a chemical which inhibits the accumulation of fluid in the pleura cavity.

  • Mesothelioma Radiation Treatment

Radiation therapy is used to treat Mesothelioma patients with the goal of controlling the spread of cancer in combination with surgery and chemotherapy. Radiation emanates from high energy X-rays, photons, neutrons, cobalt, or other radiation sources. Chemotherapy and Radiation treatments are useful ways to combat other types of cancers but, used alone, have not been very helpful for treating Mesothelioma.

Research continues as the medical field looks for a cure.  Different combinations of drugs and surgery, studies of newly developed drugs, gene therapy, and more are being studied, with clinical trials in the United States and abroad.

Prognosis for mesothelioma is difficult to estimate consistently when looking at different research studies because there are often large differences in the time before diagnosis and the rate of disease progression.  Many factors affect a person’s prognosis, including the type of disease, a person’s age and general health, when the disease was found, and a person’s response to treatment.

 Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.

For some patients, taking part in a mesothelioma clinical trial may be the best treatment choice.  Mesothelioma clinical trials are part of the cancer research process.  Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.

Many of today’s standard treatments for mesothelioma cancer are based on previous, earlier clinical trials.  Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new mesothelioma treatment.

Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.

Learn more about Mesothelioma, Asbestos, Symptoms and Treatments

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Cisplatin Treatment for Mesothelioma May Prove to be a Safe Alternative

Dr. Chris Carter, a scientist in Europe is working to develop a treatment for mesothelioma that would perhaps be more effective than traditional methods of treatment.  Currently, patients with mesothelioma cancer receive medication through intravenous injections.  But, the new method of treatment would be delivered in the form of an inhaler.  Using an inhaler would bring the Cisplatin medication directly to the cancer cells in the lungs.

As a result of direct and prolonged contact with asbestos, a person will contract a form of lung caner called Mesothelioma.  Because the disease forms in and affects the lungs, treating it directly at the source could be a much more effective way than traditional needles. This new treatment will use a nebulizer to deliver medication directly to the lungs in a vaporized form. Researchers believe that this method could be more effective and could also help to eliminate the commonly felt side effects of mesothelioma treatment which can include kidney disease as well as other complications.

Each year, mesothelioma causes thousands of patients to suffer from this deadly disease but might benefit by the development of this new treatment method.  Mesothelioma cancer brings 2,000 to 3,000 deaths in the United States every year, as well as thousands mores each year in Scotland where research on the new treatment method using Cisplatin nebulizer is being conducted.  Scientists are working on this method with Dr. Chris Carter through the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.   The treatment method  should be released relatively soon for clinical trial, and they are very optimistic that their treatment will work.

Dr. Chris Carter, senior lecturer leading the research team states:

By delivering Cisplatin, one of the most widely used drugs for lung cancer, in a vaporized form, we would be able to get it to the cancerous cells and avoid the damage to healthy cells which can be hugely debilitating to patients. It would make the treatment far less onerous for them and we hope it would help them to live longer.

The new treatment would provide effective dosage to patients who are limited by the type of treatment that they can receive and will help to eliminate harmful side effects of Cisplatin which patients normally feel after intravenous injection of the drug. The nebulizer will target the lungs with the medication, and  allow the drug to be administered into the patients system much faster than traditional treatment.  This too could help to alleviate discomfort from the disease much more quickly.

This research shows that scientists and many health organizations continue in the fight to help patients with this deadly disease. Treatments are constantly being researched as scientists work to find an overall cure for mesothelioma which some doctors considered incurable.

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Mesothelioma – A Quick Short Introduction

What Is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that occurs in the tissue covering the stomach and bowels (peritoneal tissue) or in the tissue covering the outside surface of the lung (pleural tissue). 90% of the cases of Malignant Mesothelioma are caused by exposure to Asbestos.

What Is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a silicate mineral made up of masses of tiny fibers that are as strong as steel and are highly resistant to heat and chemicals. Fibers of Asbestos are inhaled or swallowed and are able to penetrate to the outside surface of the bowel or to the outside surface of the lung where they become trapped. These trapped fibers can cause a reaction that leads to Mesothelioma Cancer. Mesothelioma symptoms may not appear until about 20 or 40 years from first exposure to airborne Asbestos fibers.

Mesothelioma Treatments

Mesothelioma treatments include radiation to shrink cancer tissue or cells, chemotherapy to stop the reproduction of cancer cells, photodynamic therapy and some times, surgery to remove cancerous tissue.  There also some progressive Clinical Trials offering  the hope of a cure found in their research for new solutions.  Clinical trials are available to qualified volunteers.

You Are Entitled To Compensation!

People,  who are faced with Mesothelioma Diagnosis, are entitled to compensation from the manufacturers of any asbestos-containing product to which they were exposed in sufficient quantities to cause disease.  You can discover a qualified Mesothelioma lawyer on the Internet.   Be sure to evaluate and consider the success case references when looking for counsel and representation.