Mesothelioma News from ScienceDaily

ScienceDaily: Mesothelioma News

Read the medical research on mesothelioma including mesothelioma symptoms and treatments. Information on mesothelioma and asbestos.

Genetic link to mesothelioma discovered

Aug-28-2011 — Scientists have found that individuals who carry a mutation in a gene called BAP1 are susceptible to developing two forms of cancer -- mesothelioma, and melanoma of the eye. Additionally, when these individuals are exposed to asbestos or similar mineral fibers, their risk of developing mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen, is markedly increased. More...

Cancer-causing mineral found in U.S. road gravel: Erionite in roads may increase risk of mesothelioma

Jul-25-2011 — Vehicles traveling along gravel roads in Dunn County, North Dakota stir up clouds of dust containing high levels of the mineral erionite. Those who breathe in the air every day are at an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, new research shows. Erionite shares similar physical similarities with asbestos and when airborne, its fibers can lodge in people's lungs. Over time, the embedded fibers can lead to mesothelioma, a lung cancer most often associated with asbestos. More...

Nanotubes could pose health risk to production line staff, study suggests

Jun-14-2011 — Tiny fibers used to strengthen everyday products such as bicycle frames and hockey sticks could pose health hazards to those involved in their manufacture. Certain types of carbon nanotubes -- cylindrical molecules about one-thousandth of the width of a human hair -- could cause cancer in the lining of the lung, researchers have found. More...

Deaths and major morbidity from asbestos-related diseases in Asia likely to surge in next 20 years, experts warn

Jun-09-2011 — An alarming new article issues a serious warning of massive rises in deaths from asbestos-related lung diseases in Asia. Asian countries accounted for 64% of the global consumption of asbestos in the period of 2001-2007, a striking increase from 14% between 1920 and 1970. This is a result of unregulated asbestos import and use in many Asian countries. More...

Pleural mesothelioma: Combination therapy shows promise for rare, deadly cancer caused by asbestos

Jun-02-2011 — Pleural mesothelioma patients who undergo lung-sparing surgery in combination with photodynamic therapy (PDT) show superior overall survival than patient treated using the conventional therapy of extrapleural pneumonectomy (or en bloc removal of the lung and surrounding tissue) with PDT, indicates new research. More...

Novel noninvasive tests for early cancer detection

May-03-2011 — Researchers are intensifying efforts to identify and validate various types of biomarkers that are detectable in readily accessible bodily fluids such as blood and urine. More...

Renal cancer drug temsirolimus shows promise against mesothelioma

May-01-2011 — A drug commonly used to treat kidney cancer may increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy for mesothelioma, according to a new study. More...

New test detects early-stage, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer

Apr-04-2011 — Researchers have investigated a novel protein test to detect early-stage, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer. The test can accurately identify proteins secreted from cancerous tumors caused by asbestos exposure. More...

Exposure to North Dakota road material may increase risk of lung cancer

Dec-09-2010 — New data shows that people exposed to the mineral erionite found in the gravel of road materials in North Dakota may be at significantly increased risk of developing mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer most often associated with asbestos exposure. More...

Urgent ban on all asbestos needed, experts urge

Dec-09-2010 — Scientists have repeated calls for a total ban on all asbestos across the globe. They point out that just 52 nations have banned asbestos but a large number still use, import and export asbestos and asbestos-containing products. More...

New biomarkers discovered for pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma

Sep-28-2010 — Using a novel aptamer-based proteomics array technology, researchers and collaborators have identified biomarkers and protein signatures that are hallmarks of cancer at an early stage for two of the most aggressive and deadly forms of cancer -- pancreatic and mesothelioma. More...

Work-related deaths in England and Wales have almost halved in 20 years, study finds

Jul-19-2010 — Deaths in England and Wales from injuries and diseases caused by work have almost halved in 20 years, indicates new research. More...

Mystery unraveled: How asbestos causes cancer

Jun-29-2010 — More than 20 million people in the US, and many more worldwide, who have been exposed to asbestos are at risk of developing mesothelioma, a malignant cancer of the membranes that cover the lungs and abdomen that is resistant to current therapies. Moreover, asbestos exposure increases the risk of lung cancer among smokers. For the past 40 years researchers have tried to understand why asbestos causes cancer. More...

Possible vaccine for mesothelioma proven safe

Mar-04-2010 — Researchers have demonstrated the safety of a potential vaccine against mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated primarily with asbestos exposure. The vaccine, which infuses uses a patient's own dendritic cells with antigen from the patient's tumor, was able to induce a T-cell response against mesothelioma tumors. More...

New agent to manage cancer related effusions

Feb-03-2010 — In the USA each year, 200,000 cancer patients suffer from a malignant pleural effusion -- development of excessive fluid (pleural effusion) in the chest. Several litres of such fluid can accumulate, and many patients suffer from significant breathlessness and distress. One in four patients with lung cancer, one in every three with breast cancer and most of the patients with mesothelioma will develop a malignant effusion. The current strategy is to induce a pleurodesis (seal the pleural cavity with a chemical agent so no fluid can accumulate). However existing agents are far from perfect, with most producing significant side effects while delivering low success rates. More...

Asbestos Contamination: Health Impacts Of One Of The Nation's Largest Environmental Disasters

Nov-02-2009 — Over nearly a century, thousands of residents and workers in Libby, Mont., have been exposed to asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore, leading to markedly higher rates of lung disease and autoimmune disorders, and causing to Libby in 2002 to be added to the federal Environmental Protection Agency's "National Priorities List." Researchers are now launching three investigations into disease pathology in the town and to determine recommended cleanup efforts. More...

How Carbon Nanotubes Can Affect Lining Of The Lungs

Oct-25-2009 — Carbon nanotubes are being considered for use in everything from sports equipment to medical applications, but a great deal remains unknown about whether these materials cause respiratory or other health problems. Now a new study shows that inhaling these nanotubes can affect the outer lining of the lung, though the effects of long-term exposure remain unclear. More...

New Technique Can Help Diagnose Mesothelioma

Aug-24-2009 — A new technique may help clinicians hone in on a diagnosis in patients presenting with a pleural effusion of unknown cause. More...

Gene Expression Ratio Test Predicts Outcome In Mesothelioma Patients Treated With Surgery

Apr-28-2009 — A four-gene expression ratio test prospectively distinguished mesothelioma patients who had a statistically significant longer overall survival from those who had shorter survival in a single-institution study. More...

How Asbestos Fibers Trigger Cancer In Human Cells

Dec-18-2008 — Scientists are now studying the molecular underpinnings of cancer by probing individual bonds between an asbestos fiber and human cells. Though any clinical application is years away, the researchers hope their findings could aid in drug development efforts targeting illnesses caused by excessive exposure to asbestos, including the deadly cancer called mesothelioma. More...

New Clinical Trial For Patients With Asbestos-associated Lung Cancer

Jun-26-2008 — The Mesothelioma Center within the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center is now recruiting patients for a clinical research study of a new targeted radiation and chemotherapy protocol for pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung's lining that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. More...

Carbon Nanotubes That Look Like Asbestos, Behave Like Asbestos, Could Lead To Asbestos-related Disease

May-20-2008 — A major study in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms of carbon nanotubes -- a poster child for the "nanotechnology revolution" -- could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sufficient quantities. More...

Mouse Model For Mesothelioma Reproduces Human Disease

Mar-10-2008 — Scientists have established a mouse model for human malignant mesothelioma that will provide valuable insight into cancer development and progression along with new directions for design of therapeutic strategies. The research may eventually lead to a substantially improved outlook for patients with this devastating disease. Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer originating from the mesothelial lining of the pleural cavity and is associated with asbestos exposure and is characterized by a long latency period between exposure and disease onset. More...

Asbestos Disease Projections Too Low

Apr-02-2007 — Current predictions of the future incidence of asbestos-related disease have been substantially underestimated, according to new modelling to be presented in Melbourne today by an epidemiologist from the Australian National University. More...

Mesothelioma: Chemo Combination Improves Survival In Asbestos-related Cancer

Feb-08-2007 — People with mesothelioma -- a form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure -- have a higher survival rate when treated with a combination of two cancer drugs, a large multicenter study finds. More...

Exposure To Volcanic Mineral Associated With Increased Mesothelioma Incidence In Turkey

Mar-20-2006 — High exposure to a fibrous volcanic mineral called erionite was associated with a high incidence of a type of cancer called mesothelioma, according to a study in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. More...

Elevated Blood Levels Of A Protein Are Linked To Asbestos-induced Cancers

Oct-16-2005 — Researchers at New York University School of Medicine and Wayne State University have found a molecule that reveals the early stages of pleural mesothelioma, a chest cancer caused by asbestos. The finding opens the way to a blood test for the disease, according to a new study published in the Oct. 13 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. More...

Naturally Occurring Asbestos Linked To Lung Cancer

Jul-12-2005 — Everyday exposure to naturally occurring asbestos increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma, according to a study by UC Davis researchers. The study - the largest to examine the question - will be published this fall in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. More...

Workers Exposed To Libby Vermiculite Ore Have High Rate Of Chest Wall Abnormalities

Jul-10-2005 — More than one-quarter of tested workers at an Ohio manufacturing plant historically exposed to asbestos-containing vermiculite ore exhibited signs of scarring of the chest wall lining, or pleural plaques, which are usually considered markers of previous exposure to asbestos fibers, according to research from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. More...

No Role For Simian Virus 40 In Human Pleural Mesotheliomas

Sep-27-2004 — A study, published in the September 25 issue of Lancet, calls into question the proposed link between SV40 and pleural mesothelioma and provides a possible explanation for the discrepancies in the results obtained by different groups. More...

Penn Researchers Find That PET Imaging Sheds More Light On Complex, Microscopic Cancers

Sep-12-1998 — Managing cancer is challenging for physicians in and of itself, but with certain types of cancer, diagnosis is difficult as well. In cancers based in unusual locations, such as in the lining of the lung (mesothelioma) or in the lymph nodes, conventional imaging technology cannot detect malignant cells or differentiate them from benign, or non-cancerous, ones. More...