Asbestos & Mesothelioma Studies
Keytruda is showing promising results for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. Researchers found that the combination of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy lead to a better survival in patients versus chemotherapy alone. Mesothelioma is a hard-to-treat cancer with no cure. It can be found in the linings of the lungs, abdomen, heart, and testicles. The aggressive…
A study looking at the global impact of mesothelioma was recently published. Researchers examined age, sex, and geographic locations to see the risk of asbestos at the population level. It was discovered that Northern Europe, Australia, and New Zealand had the highest rates of mesothelioma. The age standardized rate of the disease was .30 per…
Researchers have found at least one way that asbestos causes mesothelioma. The disease is linked to the HMGB1 protein. Researchers looked at a mesothelioma epidemic in Türkiye, noting that in some families, up to 50 percent develop mesothelioma. Family members passed the likelihood of mesothelioma from generation to generation. Families in the United States have…
New mesothelioma research is being performed at The Netherlands Cancer Institute. The researchers are looking at new combinations of medications to be used on patients that have mesothelioma with BAP1 genetic mutations. More than half of patients with mesothelioma have changes in the BAP1 tumor suppressor gene. When the BAP1 gene is altered, it allows…
The early diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma is critical for extending survival in patients. Researchers in Italy may have found a helpful biomarker to catch mesothelioma earlier, up to five years before a clinical diagnosis. This is helpful because once mesothelioma is diagnosed, it is hard to treat due to its aggressive and quick spreading…
A new study from Rice University in Houston is showing promising results for mesothelioma. It utilizes the immune system to fight cancer cells. The protein that is being studied is interleukin 2 (IL2), which is a protein that regulates white blood cells through the use of cytokines, a cell signal that affects other cells. When…
There might be more options for treating mesothelioma. A study looked at the combination of Opdivo and Yervoy after surgery. The study was performed at the Hyogo College of Medicine in Japan. Opdivo and Yervoy, which were recently approved for the treatment of mesothelioma, improved survival when administered after surgery. The six-month survival was 87…
A specific type of radiation could be useful for the treatment of mesothelioma. Carbon-ion beam irradiation along with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin could potentially stop the growth of pleural mesothelioma tumors. Research was conducted at a carbon ion center in Chiba, Japan and results have been published to the American Journal of Cancer Research. Carbon…
A United Kingdom study is showing the dangers of legacy asbestos. Asbestos that remains in commercial and residential buildings can be more dangerous than previously thought. Researchers from the study found that two-thirds of the asbestos still in buildings was old enough or damaged enough to release fibers into the air. Around one million samples…
Patients with thoracic and abdominal mesothelioma can extend survival when they are given aggressive surgery. This news came from a study at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. When patients are given bicavity cytoreductive surgery, they had a median survival of 58.2 months. The results were published in December in the Journal of Thoracic and…
