Mesothelioma Research Information and Links
Scientists continually focus on developing early diagnostic tests and treatments for cancer and mesothelioma related diseases. Mesothelioma is a cancer that is researched with the hope one day there will be a treatment to add a better quality of life to this currently life threatening diagnosis and maybe someday a cure. Compiled for your information are links to Mesothelioma research, studies and pharmaceutical companies working on improving the prognosis for patients with asbestos-related diseases. These links have not been clinically verified for accuracy; provided is a compilation of information we have found in our travels on the internet. This page is intended for reference material only and not for diagnosis or a recommendation for a treatment plan. Always consult your physician first.
Genetic Predisposition to Mesothelioma
- Genetic Predisposition to Fiber Carcinogenesis Causes a Mesothelioma Epidemic in Turkey
- Parental cancer and genetic predisposition in malignant pleural mesothelioma: a case-control study.
- Genetic susceptibility to malignant mesothelioma and exposure to asbestos: the influence of the familial factor.
- Validation of Genomics-Based Prognostic Tests in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
“Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly lethal malignancy affecting 3,000 patients in the United States annually for which current therapy is limited (1-6). There are three distinct histologic subtypes of MPM: epithelial, sarcomatoid, and mixed (7, 8). The expected median survival of patients presenting with MPM is between 4 and 12 months (1). The best chemotherapy regimen (Alimta, cisplatin combination) prolongs median survival only by a few months (e.g., from 9 to 12 months; ref. 9). Aggressive cytoreductive therapy, including surgery (i.e., extrapleural pneumonectomy) followed by combination chemotherapy and radiation therapy (trimodality therapy), has been shown to prolong survival in selected patients with early MPM (8). However, most patients do not undergo trimodality therapy due to insufficient cardiopulmonary reserve, advanced disease, or lack of access to specialized centers.
Whereas most MPM patients succumb within 1 or 2 years, some survive as long as 10 years. Certain features, such as epithelial histology, negative lymph nodes, and negative resection margins, have been proposed as markers for good prognosis. However, determination of nearly all of these requires major surgical exploration making accurate pretreatment staging or prognostication essentially impossible.”
Rosetta Genomics
- What is Rosetta Genomics?
- Differentiating Mesothelioma from Adenocarcinoma in the Lung
Rosetta Genomics Video
Biomarkers
Research of SV40, Asbestos and Mesothelioma
- Crocidolite asbestos and SV40 are cocarcinogens in human mesothelial cells and cause mesothelioma in hamsters
- SV40, Asbestos Cause Mesothelioma
Cytoreductive Surgery
- Cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal mesothelioma
- Cytoreductive Surgery with Intra-Peritoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy for Disseminated Peritoneal Cancer
“Appendix cancer has often spread to the peritoneal surfaces of the abdomen by the time it is discovered. The surgery to remove as much of the cancer in the abdomen as possible, reducing the “bulk” of the cancer is called “debulking” or “cytoreduction” surgery. “Cyto” is a word root meaning cells, so cytoreduction means to surgically “reduce” number of cancer cells. Both terms mean the same thing and are usually used interchangeably.
Cytoreduction (debulking) surgery is often long and complicated and is associated with a high rate of post-operative complications. Parts of the large and small bowel along with organs or parts of organs in the abdomen that are cancerous may need to be removed during this surgery. “Complete cytoreduction” or “complete debulking” means that all of the visible tumors are successfully removed during surgery. “Incomplete cytoreduction” or “incomplete debulking” means that all of the tumors could not be removed during the surgery and that visible tumors were left behind.”
Alfacell Company, produces biopharmaceutical products
ONCONASE (R) is a first-in-class therapeutic from Alfacell’s proprietary ribonuclease (RNase) technology platform. ONCONASE (R) has been shown to target tumor cells while sparing normal cells. ONCONASE (R) is internalized by endocytosis and released into the cytosol of the cancerous cell, where it selectively degrades tRNA beyond repair. In doing so, ONCONASE (R) inhibits protein synthesis, stops cell cycle proliferation, and induces apoptosis (programmed cell death).
