July 03, 2008
Pleural Mesothelioma Study Recruiting Patients
A new study is recruiting patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma to study a combination therapy of targeted radiation and chemotherapy.
The standard treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma patients has often been removal of a patient's lung, a risky and debilitating surgery. Researchers hope combination therapy will give patients additional treatment options instead of drastic surgery.
Read more here
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:00 AM | Permalink
July 02, 2008
CALL FOR FURTHER STUDIES ON CHEMOTHERAPY DRUG
Following the publication of a study in the May edition of The Lancet, it is now recognized that adding chemo to symptom relieving treatments, such as steroids, does not prolong life expectancy or improve the quality of life. However, one chemotherapy drug - vinorelbine - has been deemed worthy of further study.
In a study that recruited 409 mesothelioma patients (average age, 65) from treatment centers in the United Kingdom and Australia between 2001 and 2006, patients were randomly divided into three groups and given either active symptom control alone (that means no attempt was made to cure the disease, just to manage it); active symptom control plus a combination of the chemotherapy drugs mitomycin, vinblastine, and cisplatin (MVP); or active symptom control plus the chemotherapy drug, vinorelbine. None of the patients had received prior treatment with chemotherapy.
Results from the study showed no real improvement in the first two groups of patients. However, those patients receiving active symptom control and vinorelbine lived, on average, two months longer (9.5 months compared to 7.6 months) than those in the active symptom control group. The patients on vinorelbine also experienced a longer period without their cancer progressing.
Future studies should identify which patients benefit most from treatment—and how much they benefit—so that doctors can better target treatments. Research is also required to test out different drug combinations; for example, adding vinorelbine to other chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin or pemetrexed.
The Lancet (Free registration required)
Muers MF, Stephens RJ, Fisher P, Darlison L, Higgs CMB, Lowry E, et al. Active symptom control with or without chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MS01): a multicentre randomized trial. The Lancet. 2008;371:1685:1694.
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:43 AM | Permalink
June 28, 2008
MISSOURIE TOWN TO REPLACE ASBESTOS WATER PIPES
The city of Marston, in Missouri, is to replace aging, asbestos-containing water pipes with a new system.
The original pipes were installed in the mid-1950's and are now leaking because they have become brittle with age. Up to now, the pipes have not been repaired because of the dangers to workers from inhaling the asbestos dust when attaching pvc fittings. Although there is little research on the problems associated with the ingestion of asbestos (as opposed to inhaling it), but the EPA advises that it could lead to stomach, colon and kidney cancer.
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 06:06 AM | Permalink
June 27, 2008
NEW CLINICAL TRIAL FOR PATIENTS WITH ASBESTOS RELATED LUNG CANCER
The Mesothelioma 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.
Dr Robert Taub, who is the director of the New York Mesothelioma Center and professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University says:
"Current surgical and chemotherapy treatments of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma are unsatisfactory, and have not been shown to significantly prolong survival. In this study, we will investigate whether a combination of chemotherapy and radiation targeted directly at the lung's lining can improve outcomes while avoiding surgery." He went on to comment that this approach has shown minimal toxic side effects when compared to systemic chemotherapy.
To find out more, contact the address below:
Office of Public Affairs
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
627 West 165th Street
New York, NY 10032
tel: 212.305.5587
fax: 212.305.8023
email: pr@nyp.org
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 09:11 AM | Permalink
June 25, 2008
TIME RUNS OUT FOR GRACE
On Monday this week, the Supreme Court rejected two appeals by Grace concerning the February 2005 indictments including charges that the chemical company knowingly endangered the lives of its workers and others in the tiny Montana town of Libby.
So, after three years of confusion, stalling, and appeals, it is beginning to appear that the trial will really happen.
Depending on legal schedules, the trial looks likely to begin before the end of 2008.
Posted by Dianne Sandland at 10:22 AM | Permalink