Month: February 2018

ASCO Offers Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment Guidelines

• Nancy Meredith
• Pleural Mesothelioma, Treatments

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world’s leading professional organization for medical professionals caring for cancer patients. The Society has a goal to improve the quality of care in the field of oncology.  Now, to assist medical professionals managing patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, the organization has just released new evidence-based recommendations.

In their newly released clinical practice guidelines, ASCO offers guidelines for diagnosis, staging, chemotherapy, surgical cytoreduction, radiation therapy, and multimodality therapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients. According to the panel of experts, including Hedy L. Kindler, MD, of the University of Chicago, and Mary Hesdorffer, formerly the Executive Director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, the recommendation addresses five “overarching clinical questions.”

• What is the optimal approach to obtain an accurate diagnosis of mesothelioma?
• What initial assessment is recommended before initiating any therapy for mesothelioma?
• What is the appropriate first- and second-line systemic treatment of patients with mesothelioma?
• What is the appropriate role of surgical cytoreduction in the management of mesothelioma?
• When should radiation be recommended for mesothelioma?

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare, painful cancer caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. Treatments manage the symptoms to hold the cancer at bay, but there is no known cure for this deadly disease. Patients have a poor prognosis, and the median overall survival of patients with advanced surgically unresectable disease is about 12 months, according to ASCO. About 3,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S.

The ASCO team noted that “Given the rarity of this malignancy, there have been few large randomized trials, especially for surgical management of this disease.” Seeing a critical need to find and compile this information, ASCO convened a panel of experts, including thoracic, oncology and advocacy experts, to review medical literature published from 1990 through 2017 that included references to pertinent trials and studies.

Through the search of the literature, the team identified 222 relevant studies. After assessing the key areas of interest, including survival and quality of life, using evidence and informal consensus the team developed the evidence-based guideline recommendations.

The guidelines, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, include offering chemotherapy as a means for improving survival and quality of life for mesothelioma patients. The recommended first-line chemotherapy is pemetrexed plus platinum. However, the team recommends offering patients the option of enrolling in a clinical trial. Other chemotherapy recommendations include the addition of bevacizumab to pemetrexed-based chemotherapy for  select patients, as well as pointing out risks for the use in some patients.

The panel “strongly recommends” a maximal surgical cytoreduction surgery for certain patients with early-stage disease. The recommendations note, however, that surgery is just one modality and chemotherapy and/or radiation should also be administered.

See the Journal of Clinical Oncology for all of the mesothelioma recommendations.

ASCO states that “clinical practice guidelines are intended to improve the quality of cancer care by helping oncologists make choices about treatment, prevention, supportive care, or follow-up in line with the best available evidence from oncology research.” ASCO notes that the guidelines are voluntary and do not account for variation among patients or the most recent evidence.

Sources:

• ASCO
  https://www.asco.org/practice-guidelines/quality-guidelines/guidelines/thoracic-cancer#/29376
• Journal of Clinical Oncology
  http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2012/12/13/JCO.2012.44.6443.abstract
  

Mesothelioma Patients and Their Families Urged to Get the Flu Shot

• Lisa Hyde-Barrett
• Nurse's Corner

The flu season is estimated to run from December through March annually, although you can get the flu at any time of the year. This year the flu is particularly serious, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announcing on January 26 that the flu activity has not yet peaked for the season.

The flu can be  a serious condition for anybody: patients and family members of all ages, from the very young to the very old. The very young and the elderly are particularly at risk  for the  severe symptoms that  the flu can cause. Patients with mesothelioma are on average around 72-years-old making them in the vulnerable group for this potentially serious condition. This year the flu has affected people in the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

The flu vaccine is recommended for most people. If you have not received it, talk to your medical team about getting it immediately. You can develop the flu even after getting the flu shot, but the course of the virus is usually less severe.

The flu is a virus that is contagious. Someone with the flu virus can infect other people beginning one day before symptoms develop, and five to seven days after becoming sick. Children can pass the virus for longer than seven days. Symptoms start one to four days after the virus enters the body. The flu can be passed on before you know you are sick and after the virus enters the body.

People with the flu can spread it to others from as far as six feet away. It is thought to be spread primarily by droplets from people with the flu when they sneeze, cough or talk. The droplets are then inhaled by  people nearby into their lungs. The symptoms  can come on quickly. The flu has a variety of symptoms. Some of the symptoms include high fever, respiratory illness, chills, severe aches in muscles and joints, pain and tiredness around your eyes, weakness or extreme fatigue, warm flushed skin and red watery eyes, headache, a dry cough, sore throat and runny nose. The treatment for the flu is to drink plenty of fluids, rest, and stay away from people so as not to spread the virus.

The flu can produce serious symptoms  for some people who may benefit from anti-viral medications. The three common anti-virals that are prescribed are oseltamivir or Tamiflu, peramivir or Rapivab, zanamivir or Relenza. They all work best if taken within 48 hours of your first symptoms. It is thought that the medicines can shorten the length of your illness by a day, if you take them at the beginning of the symptoms.

The flu is an attack on your immune system.  For some people it can be fatal. After getting the flu chances of heart attack are increased six-fold during the first seven days of a flu infection.

For patients and their families with malignant mesothelioma, the flu needs to be taken very seriously. You need to be in touch with your medical team particularly if any shortness of breath develops. Wash your hands frequently, isolate yourself if you suspect the flu, and please let your mesothelioma medical team know. The flu is serious!

Putting Mesothelioma Front and Center on World Cancer Day

• Nancy Meredith
• Advocacy

Today, February 4, is an international day set aside to unite the world’s population in the fight against cancer. With the tagline ‘We can. I can.’,” World Cancer Day 2018 is focused on how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer. This day is a fitting time to tell your friends, and anyone you meet, about mesothelioma and ways in which they can support the mesothelioma community in the quest to help find a cure.

World Cancer Day’s primary objective is to get as many people as possible around the globe to talk about cancer. Organized by the Union for International Cancer Control, the world’s largest cancer organization headquartered in Switzerland, the day “aims to save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about the disease, pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action.”

The day is a time to reflect on deaths caused by mesothelioma, a preventable cancer, and renew efforts to eliminate recognized cancer causes. With thousands of families across the globe losing loved ones to mesothelioma, it is the time to raise awareness of the slow-developing asbestos-caused cancer.

Mesothelioma is a serious disease diagnosed in close to 3,000 Americans each year. As with other environmental cancers, mesothelioma is an entirely preventable disease. Currently there is no known cure for the disease, but ongoing research is the key to finding the breakthrough that can mean the difference between life and death.

Today, about 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos, primarily in the workplace or by living near factories that handle asbestos. Microscopic asbestos fibers can accumulate in the lung and cause mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis, a chronic scarring of the lung.

There are nearly 500 events planned for World Cancer Day 2018. Check here for an event near you. In addition, donations can be made to a mesothelioma organization where your dollars will go towards mesothelioma research. Consider making a donation to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation in honor of Don Smitley, who lost his life to mesothelioma. His daughter Jennifer Gelsick, who is a “Faces of Mesothelioma” author, and her family established a fund in Smitley’s name to help raise much-needed money for mesothelioma research. Contributions can be made in Don’s memory at www.curemeso.com/fundraising/smitley.

“World Cancer Day is a chance to reflect on what you can do, make a pledge and take action. Whatever you choose to do ‘We can. I can.’ make a difference to the fight against cancer.”

For more information visit WorldCancerDay.org.

Sources :

• Union for International Cancer Control,
  https://www.uicc.org/
• Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
  http://www.curemeso.org/
• Union for International Cancer Control
  https://www.uicc.org/

What Would Dad Think of the Mesothelioma Ups and Downs?

• Joseph Belluck
• Faces of Mesothelioma

In the years that have passed since I lost my father to mesothelioma, I have often looked at events, not only in my life and immediate community, but also globally, and wondered, what would Dad think about this?  Sometimes, they are lighthearted happenings, others, more sober topics; Dad was interested in most things and I loved hearing his opinions and simple wisdom applied to anything and everything.

If Dad were to look at the advocacy that his family continues with the mesothelioma community, I think he would be proud. His smile beaming, eyes sparkling, as they did any time someone did something that he thought was admirable and good. He was an advocate with us before he lost his fight, and I know that he was excited to continue on with his work; now it continues through those who love him.

If my father saw the success that some friends are having with their mesothelioma treatments, he would be ecstatic, praising God and congratulating them on their progress. To see the other side, however, the number of those who have since passed, his heart would be broken and he would  be working to console their families.

Seeing the recent revelations about asbestos being used in children’s make up, I know that he would have been so sad. Dad loved children and the thought of a child being exposed to something so life-shattering would cause his heart great pain and sorrow. I’m sure that he would have had some strong feelings of how this should be handled.

I think about Dad every second of every day. Still, four years later, I find myself picking up the phone to call and tell him about something going on that I know would interest him. Even though he can’t pick up, I do take time to think about what his reaction would have been. This is a practice that keeps his memory alive in my heart, and I know that he smiles knowing that I’m still thinking about the wisdom he imparted on me and my family.

Breakthrough Blood Test May Extend Mesothelioma Survival

• Nancy Meredith
• Cancer, Diagnosis, Featured News, Pleural Mesothelioma

Just last week, MesotheliomaHelp reported on a corporate partnership for blood test tools that will bring improved results in the detection of key lung cancer mutations. Blood biopsies are shown to be fast and accurate, as well as less stressful on the patients. Now, in another breakthrough using liquid biopsies, researchers report success in the early detection of mesothelioma and screening for multiple cancers using one tool.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have developed the CancerSeek blood test that is able to screen for eight different types of cancers and can help pinpoint the location of the tumor. In a recent study of 1,005 cancer patients, the results had a “greater than 99 percent specificity for cancer,” according to a Jan. 19 press release from Johns Hopkins University.

Although there are screening options for some cancers, such as breast and prostate,  mesothelioma, and many other cancers, are diagnosed after the patient goes to a doctor exhibiting some of the signature symptoms of cancer: unexplained weight loss, extreme fatigue and a persistent cough. CancerSeek results had a sensitivity ranging from 69 percent to 98 percent in five cancers that do not currently have any screening test availables, including ovarian, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers.

The test, according to the researchers, looks at eight common cancer proteins and the presence of cancer gene mutations from DNA circulating in the blood. The team developed a “small yet robust panel” that could detect at least one mutation and not lead to false-positives. The test is used for cancer detection only, and does not detect specific biomarkers to drive treatment.

“The use of a combination of selected biomarkers for early detection has the potential to change the way we screen for cancer…,” says Nickolas Papadopoulos, senior author and professor of oncology and pathology at Johns Hopkins.

Pleural mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the lungs caused by past exposure to asbestos, has a long incubation period where patients may not exhibit symptoms for decades after exposure. By then the disease is already at an advanced, incurable stage.

Early detection of cancer through screening reduces mortality from many cancers, including lung and colon, according to the National Cancer Society. When treating mesothelioma patients, the best outcome is achieved with early detection of the disease by increasing treatment options and improving the patients’ quality of life while battling the cancer.

The  tests are still in the early stages of research and are not yet available; however, they may be helpful in diagnosing mesothelioma in the future. In fact, the team anticipates a relatively inexpensive test that may be conducted by a primary care provider.

Read the results of the study in the Jan. 18 issue of the journal Science.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6349/378