Archive for the 'General' Category
January 2nd, 2009. Epigenetic Profiles Distinguish Pleural Mesothelioma from Normal Pleura and Predict Lung Asbestos Burden and Clinical Outcome
We have added to the growing body of evidence that cellular epigenetic dysregulation is a critical mode of action for asbestos in the induction of pleural mesothelioma. Importantly, these findings hold great promise for using epigenetic profiling in the diagnosis and prognosis of human cancers.
December 23rd, 2008. Malignant mesothelioma
Compensation issues must also be considered. Life expectancy in malignant mesothelioma is poor, with a median survival of about one year following diagnosis.
Posted in Benign, CT or CAT scan, Causation, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Environmental Asbestos Exposure, Full Archive, General, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Pericardial, Peritoneal (Abdominal Mesothelioma), Pleural, Survival, Symptoms & Symptom Management, Treatment, Trimodality Therapy, Tunica Vaginalis Testis, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
December 20th, 2008. A review of mesothelioma information on the World Wide Web
Conclusions: There is marked variation in the quality, integrity, and currency of the information in educational websites for mesothelioma patients. Google ranking has shown a weak but significant positive correlation to the quality of medical information relating to mesothelioma.
December 18th, 2008. Asbestos-related occupational lung diseases in NSW, Australia and potential exposure of the general population
Although the hazards of asbestos are well known in developed countries, awareness of its adverse health effects is less in other parts of the world, particularly when exposure occurs in non-occupational settings. Experience of asbestos use and its adverse heath effects in developed countries such as Australia have resulted in development of expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of asbestos-related diseases as well as in screening and this can be used to help developing countries facing the issue of asbestos exposure.
November 8th, 2008. The CREST biorepository: a tool for molecular epidemiology and translational studies on malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other respiratory tract diseases
Conclusions: The CREST biorepository is a valuable tool for molecular epidemiology and translational studies. This structure relies on a network of contacts with local health districts that allows for an active search for patients. This is a particularly efficient approach, especially when the object of the study is a rare cancer type. The CREST experience suggests that the presence of limited resources can be overcome by the biorepository specialization, the high quality of the epidemiologic information, and the variety of samples.
October 23rd, 2008. US mesothelioma patterns 1973-2002: indicators of change and insights into background rates
The background rate for persons below age 50 is approximately one per million, independent of sex. Future data are needed to estimate this rate for older age groups.
October 2nd, 2008. Asbestos disease in Australia: looking forward and looking back
The campaign to "Make James Hardie Pay" as well as the efforts of workers and advocates are profiled in this article as well as in this issue's Documents and Voices sections. Discussion of recent developments in asbestos-related disease research and mesothelioma surveillance is followed by articulation of the comprehensive public and social health response that is needed to fully engage and address the asbestos disease legacy and to apply lessons learned to help revive the currently waning societal commitment to occupational health and safety in Australia and elsewhere.
September 17th, 2008. ‘Hands of Time’: the experience of establishing a support group for people affected by mesothelioma
The structure and process of developing and running the group are described and the challenges involved are discussed. The findings of a small evaluation of the group are presented.
September 5th, 2008. Systemic Treatments for Mesothelioma: Standard and Novel
These include drugs targeted against the epidermal growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, src kinase, histone deacetylase, the proteasome, and mesothelin. Given the progress made in recent years, there is reason to believe that more effective treatments will continue to be developed.
Posted in Chemotherapy, Cisplatin (Platinol ®), Determining Efficacy, EGFR, Full Archive, Gemcitabine (Gemzar), General, Irinotecan, Kinase Inhibitors, New & Novel, Pemetrexed (Alimta), Raltitrexed (Tomudex), Staging, Treatment, Type of Assessment:, Vinorelbine | No Comments »
August 19th, 2008. Mesothelioma Epidemiology, Carcinogenesis, and Pathogenesis
An exciting new development comes from the discovery that genetic susceptibility to mineral fiber carcinogenesis plays a critical role in the incidence of this cancer in certain families. It is hoped that the identification of this putative mesothelioma gene will lead to novel mechanistically driven preventive and therapeutic approaches.
August 14th, 2008. National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank: a standard based biospecimen and clinical data resource to enhance translational research
Conclusion: The NMVB currently has over 600 annotated cases available for researchers that include paraffin embedded tissues, tissue microarrays, serum and genomic DNA. The NMVB is a virtual biospecimen registry with robust translational biomedical informatics support to facilitate basic science, clinical, and translational research. Furthermore, it protects patient privacy by disclosing only de-identified datasets to assure that biospecimens can be made accessible to researchers.
August 5th, 2008. Surgical treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis with reduction surgery and perioperative chemotherapy
An organ resection should thus be performed. The patient is then referred to a specialized center, either within the ten days following the procedure, or after three months, most of the time after an adjuvant therapy.
July 9th, 2008. Primary and metastatic lung tumors in the pediatric population: a review and 25-year experience at a large children’s hospital
Conclusions: A total of 204 pediatric lung tumors were diagnosed at our institution, including 20 primary benign lesions (9.8%), 14 primary malignant lesions (6.9%), and 170 secondary lung lesions (83.3%). The ratio of primary benign to primary malignant to secondary malignant neoplasms is 1.4:1:11.6. The common types of lung cancer in adults are exceptional occurrences in the pediatric population. The most common primary lung malignancies in children are pleuropulmonary blastoma and carcinoid tumor. Other primary pediatric lung tumors include congenital peribronchial myofibroblastic tumor and other myofibroblastic lesions, sarcomas, carcinoma, and mesothelioma. Children with primary or acquired immunodeficiency are at risk for Epstein-Barr virus–related smooth muscle tumors, lymphoma, and lymphoproliferative disorders. Metastatic lung tumors are relatively common in children and also comprise a spectrum of neoplasia distinct from the adult population.
July 1st, 2008. Malignant mesothelioma with heterologous elements: clinicopathological correlation of 27 cases and literature review
Immunohistochemical labelling for cytokeratins is helpful in the distinction, but lack of labelling for cytokeratins in a spindle cell/sarcomatoid tumour does not exclude the diagnosis of mesothelioma, irrespective of the presence of heterologous elements. We suggest that if the anatomical distribution conforms to that of mesothelioma, a diagnosis of heterologous mesothelioma should be made in preference to a diagnosis of primary pleural osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma, regardless of cytokeratin positivity, as for conventional non-heterologous sarcomatoid mesothelioma.
Posted in Biphasic or Mixed, Causation, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Epithelioid, Full Archive, General, Immunohistochemistry or IHC, Peritoneal (Abdominal Mesothelioma), Pleural, Sarcomatoid, Survival, Type of Assessment:, Type of Mesothelioma: | No Comments »
June 28th, 2008. Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Pleural Diseases
We summarized the most relevant data for the diagnosis and the management of benign asbestos pleural effusions, pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening and rounded atelectasis. Special attention is dedicated to malignant pleural mesothelioma, given the challenging issues of this disease, the recent advances in its management and the dynamism of research in this area.
June 24th, 2008. Separation and Characterization of Respirable Amphibole Fibers from Libby, Montana
Such harvesting of respirable fractions will allow toxicological studies to be conducted within a controlled laboratory setting, utilizing fiber sizes that may more accurately simulate historical exposure of Libby residents' lungs. Importantly, this work describes a method that allows the use of material enriched in more uniform respirable material than raw Libby 6-mix, making comparisons with other known fiber preparations more valid on a mass basis.
June 24th, 2008. Select mortality and cancer incidence among residents in various U.S. communities that received asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore from Libby, Montana
No statistically significant excesses of asbestosis mortality similar to those in Libby were noted; however, 11 sites (plus a state with 6 pooled sites that were counted as 1 site) had excess rates of mesothelioma and cancer of the peritoneum, retroperitoneum, and pleura. Further investigation should be conducted at these sites with excess rates of mesothelioma and cancer of the peritoneum, retroperitoneum, and pleura by participating state health departments to determine whether exposure to Libby vermiculite might have been a contributing factor.
June 24th, 2008. Mesothelioma: a still current occupational cancer
In certain circumstances compensation can be obtained at the Occupational Diseases Found. The renewed interest with regard to this tumour is supported by the improvement of mesothelioma management, the new imaging techniques, the new treatments and the broad diffusion of information related to the risk of developing this tumour following asbestos inhalation.
June 4th, 2008. Malignant mesothelioma 2008
Novel therapies including intrapleural chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy and hyperthermic perfusion have also been used with some success. Finally there are several attempts at immunomodulating and targeted treatments, which are in phase I/II trials.
Posted in Causation, Chemotherapy, Determining Efficacy, Diagnosis & Differentiation, Full Archive, General, Immune-based Therapies, New & Novel, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), Radiation, SV40, Serum Marker/Blood Test, Survival, Treatment, Type of Assessment: | No Comments »
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