Asbestos & Mesothelioma Studies
It was found that the number of pleural mesothelioma diagnoses has stayed the same, while the survival rate for people with the disease has slightly improved. Once asbestos was not used as much because of multiple regulations, the number of diagnoses of mesothelioma was predicted to go down. Instead, the number of diagnoses has remained…
Immunotherapy is a blossoming field that is becoming more advanced. Instead of other treatments that kill healthy cells in addition to killing cancerous cells, immunotherapy uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer cells, leaving healthy non-cancerous cells intact. It is a better treatment because it is very effective, more efficient, and is easier on…
The immune system is the body’s first line of defense when fighting off any illness, attacking foreign organisms or other substances that may harm or threaten the over health of the body. When the immune system is compromised, the body is unable to fight infections and becomes weak as the illness takes over. For those…
Avastin (bevacizumab) is a type of chemotherapy treatment that slows tumor growth by blocking the protein that is responsible for forming new blood vessels, which is what tumors need to thrive. By blocking these blood vessels, tumor growth is slowed. For those suffering from mesothelioma, hindering tumor growth can greatly improve the quality of life…
Pleural mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos is a rare cancer – only 3,000 cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year – but it is highly aggressive. There is no cure for plural mesothelioma but findings published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery reveal that a new type of combination treatment specifically…
In the Fall of 2018 scientists and researchers from Novocure, an oncology company that specializes in treating solid tumors, were hopeful their latest success with Tumor Treating Fields therapy would lead to FDA approval and ultimately, more options for those suffering from mesothelioma. After a successful clinical trial, these hopes became a reality as the…
According to GLOBOCAN 2018 statistics, each year there are 30,443 mesothelioma cases worldwide, and of those 30,443, 25,576 pass away. With close to 85 percent of those diagnosed succumbing to the disease, mesothelioma remains one of the most deadly cancers as there is no cure. However, surviving a mesothelioma diagnosis is not entirely impossible as…
Surgical techniques for those suffering from mesothelioma depend on how far the cancer has spread and if the patient is healthy enough to withstand such an invasive procedure. In many cases, the cancer has already spread too far and quickly, so surgery is not an option. For those able to treat their cancer with surgery,…
In early 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that despite the decline of asbestos use once the product became regulated in the United States, mesothelioma rates continue to rise, with a total of 45,221 deaths in the United States alone from 1999 to 2015. Scientists and researchers struggle to pinpoint reasoning…
Late last month, the Clinical Respiratory Journal released their findings on the efficacy of intrapleural immunotherapy, which is a highly targeted approach of receiving immunotherapy treatment for those suffering from mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer caused only by asbestos exposure. Since asbestos is the only known cause, mesothelioma is sometimes referred to as “asbestos cancer.”…
