Month: November 2016
Mesothelioma Nurse is Thankful for Patients and Researchers for Continuing the Fight
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect upon what we are thankful for in our lives. Everyone has their own personal list. For some the list is very simple, others more complex. For patients and families with mesothelioma this can be a tough time. Living with mesothelioma can be difficult and scary, but as researchers and patients gain knowledge of this disease, we are learning what works.
At a conference last week that I attended regarding mesothelioma, toward the end of the conference a gentleman spoke about his fight with mesothelioma. He had surgery two years ago and looked great. He was happy as he talked about his current life, he spoke with no evidence of shortness of breath. He continues to work, enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, goes on vacations, and even plays golf. His presentation was only five minutes, but it had a huge impact on the audience.
The audience was made up of doctors, scientists, nurses, and pharmaceutical companies that are involved with mesothelioma clinical trials. For many it was moving to see someone who has benefitted from research. For them, seeing the connection between their work and the impact on someone’s life is what motivates them to keep trying. The takeaway from this conference was one of optimism and appreciation.
As a representative of the medical community, I can say we are thankful to the patients and researchers and the entire mesothelioma community for continuing their battle against mesothelioma. We are thankful for the progress that continues to be made and the dedication that is required to keep moving forward towards a cure.
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Wishing the Mesothelioma Community A Happy Thanksgiving
Although today can be a challenging day for anyone in the mesothelioma community who is dealing with health issues, try to take some time today to give thanks for the blessings in your life.
If you are in a mesothelioma treatment program, take advantage of the support services and counseling services offered to help you cope with the holidays. They can give you a healthy perspective on your feelings.
At their best, the holidays can be a time of reflection, thanksgiving and spiritual growth. You may reflect on the support you’ve received from loved ones, the compassion of caregivers and the blessings of family during the holidays.
Expert Insight
Meister Eckhart, German Philosopher
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Mesothelioma Help.
Sending Thanks to All This Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving, I would like to take a moment to thank each of you for the opportunity to tell my family’s story. It has been a beautiful experience to be able to share our struggles and triumphs with you. Being able to express my thoughts through writing has been cathartic for me, and has helped me cope with the loss of my father.
Over the past several years, many people have reached out to me. I hope that I have been of some help and support to you. It is an honor that you considered me and have shared your journey as well; I am truly humbled by this entire experience.
One thing that I learned from my Dad was to always be happy with whatever you have. Whatever lot God has given you, delight in it. Even if you are going through a hard time, be glad that you have been given another day to fight. There is a quote that I read from a gentleman named Rick Warren that goes as follows:
“Happy moments, PRAISE GOD
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD
Painful moments, TRUST GOD
Every moment, THANK GOD”
What a true and beautiful sentiment this Thanksgiving. I pray that you all have a wonderful holiday with those you love, holding each moment close to your heart.
A New Approach to Blocking Cancer Growth May Lead to New Treatments for Mesothelioma
In the continual search for an effective way to stop lung cancer from spreading, or from developing in the first place, researchers report they may have found a unique approach to tackle the insidious cancer. By using monobodies, the scientists say they have found a new way to block the action of genetic mutations found in nearly one-third of all cancers, including mesothelioma.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) report they are turning to monobodies, synthetic binding proteins, instead of antibodies, when looking at a key target of many cancers – the RAS family of proteins. They report that the NS1 monobody, that they developed, can block the activity of the RAS proteins that control cell division and can drive healthy cells to divide uncontrollably, according to a Nov. 7 press release from the UIC.
“We did not look for a drug or specifically for an inhibitor,” said John O’Bryan, associate professor of pharmacology in the UIC College of Medicine, and a member of the UIC Cancer Center and who holds an appointment at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. “We used monobody technology, a type of protein-engineering technology, to identify regions of RAS that are critical for its function.”
The RAS body of proteins, which includes K-RAS, H-RAS and N-RAS, are found in close to 90 percent of pancreatic cancers and in high levels in colon cancer, lung cancer and melanoma, according to the researchers. According to some reports, mutations of the KRAS gene (Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog) are found in 20 to 25 percent of lung cancers. These cancers do not respond well to standard treatments and are extremely challenging to treat.
The team developed the NS1 monobody that binds to the RAS protein and acts as an inhibitor of the K-RAS and H-RAS proteins, but not the N-RAS. NS1 works by interfering with the proteins’ ability to form a molecular pair.
“These insights may help guide the development of new therapeutic approaches to treating cancer by interfering with mutant RAS function in cancer cells,” said the researchers.
Pleural mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, is highly aggressive and is resistant to many current treatments. Care often follows the same protocol as lung cancer, leading the mesothelioma community to keep a close eye on this research.
A Stand Up 2 Cancer dream team was funded this year to focus on KRAS-positive lung cancer. The team, led by Jeffrey Engelman, MD, PhD, Director, Thoracic Oncology & Molecular Therapeutics, Massachusetts General Hospital-Cancer Center, is focused on using existing drugs targeting mutated KRAS pathways in combination with other anti-cancer drugs to develop therapies that can kill these lung cancer cells. Visit the StandUp2Cancer website to find out more about the Dream Team.
“Development of effective RAS inhibitors represents a ‘holy grail’ in cancer biology,” O’Bryan said. “We now have a powerful tool we can use to further probe RAS function. While future studies and trials are needed before these findings can be leveraged outside the lab, this study provides new insight into how we can potentially inhibit RAS to slow tumor growth.”
See the Nov. 7 issue of Nature Chemical Biology for the full report of the study conducted by the UIC team.
Sources:
- Nature Chemical Biology
http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nchembio.2231.html - (A Stand Up 2 Cancer) dream team
http://www.standup2cancer.org/dream_teams/view/su2c_acs_lung_cancer_dream_team - UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago)
https://news.uic.edu/uic-researchers-discover-way-to-inhibit-major-cancer-gene
Tool to Help Diagnose Dangerous Weight Loss in Mesothelioma Patients May Improve Survival
Mesothelioma patients face surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments when battling their cancer. This multi-mode approach typically offers the longest survival for patients. However, patients suffering from extreme weight loss may not see any benefit regardless of the treatments they undergo. Now, researchers want to give oncologists a tool to help them determine the extent of their patients’ cachexia to make a difference in survival for these patients.
According to researchers from McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Quebec, nearly one-third of dangerously under-nourished patients will die because of this condition and not the cancer.
https://muhc.ca/newsroom/news/race-against-time-diagnose-deadly-weight-loss-cancer-patients
In a Nov. 4 press release from the University, the researchers report that due to the metabolic changes that take place as the patients waste away, treatment is not as easy as simply increasing food intake.
“We are losing many cancer patients, not because of their cancer, but because their bodies have undergone important metabolic changes,” said Dr. Antonio Vigano, lead author of the study and Director of the Cancer Rehabilitation Program and Cachexia Clinic of the MUHC. “In other words, they have simply stopped functioning correctly.”
Identifying cachexia is not as obvious as it seems, and according to the MUHC researchers, it is still “largely overlooked and untreated.” Mesothelioma patients with cachexia, or a profound state of general poor health and malnutrition that leads to loss of body weight and muscle mass, according to the American Cancer Society, respond poorly to chemotherapy agents and may suffer increased toxicity from the drugs leading to poor survival. Patients suffering from cachexia typically see increased hospitalizations and are “a major burden to family caregivers,” notes the researchers.
The team from MUHC looked at nearly 300 patients with GI and lung cancers. They grouped the patients into three classifications of cachexia – pre-cachexia (PCa), cachexia (Ca) and refractory cachexia (RCa) – as determined by five clinical criteria. The criteria they based the staging on were biochemistry, food intake, moderate weight loss, significant weight loss, and performance status.
Based on the results of their research, the team concluded: “Five criteria can be used to stage cancer cachexia patients and predict important clinical, nutritional and functional outcomes.” They turned their research into a tool to diagnose cachexia, which they predict could be available within the next few years.
“In order to save more lives, we need practical and accessible tools that can be effectively used by clinicians in their routine practice to identify patients with cachexia,” said Dr. Vigano.
Mesothelioma is a unique form of cancer, caused by asbestos exposure, where tumors develop on the lining of the lungs. The aggressive cancer quickly leads to other life-threatening complications, including cachexia in some patients. Nearly 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with the incurable cancer.
“Cachexia gets worse with time and the longer we wait to address it, the harder it is to treat,” said Dr. Vigano. “Effectively diagnosing cachexia when still in its early stages can make an enormous difference for a cancer patient’s prognosis and quality of life.”
For the full study, see the Oct. 2016 issue of Clinical Nutrition.
http://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(16)31246-8/fulltext
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