Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
Mesothelioma Patients Encouraged to Take Time to Smell the Roses
Spring is quickly approaching, a time where new life and new beginnings are all around us. If you are a mesothelioma patient, caregiver, family or friend, now is the perfect time for a fresh start.
When you are presented with a mesothelioma diagnosis, it is easy to become detached and want to keep to yourself. Spring is a great time to change that. Why not get out and enjoy all the beauty that this world has to share. Take a walk, sit outside, visit a friend. As the old adage says, “take some time to smell the roses!”
My Dad always believed that it was the simplest things that mattered most; that the littlest nuance could make the biggest impact. Every new day is full of promise so take advantage of the time that God has blessed you with and let others bless you, too! Look around you and take notice of things that you would usually take for granted. The sunshine and beauty of springtime could be just the medicine you need!
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Trojan Horse Drug Delivery Method Shown Effective in Drug Resistant Cancer May Also Kill Mesothelioma Cells
MesotheliomaHelp has previously reported on a drug delivery method where the drug sneaks up on the cancer cells via a Trojan horse concept. Now, researchers have developed another Trojan horse delivery method where a drug is hidden inside a DNA capsule.
According to researchers from The Ohio State University, using “DNA origami,” where an anti-cancer drug is enclosed in a capsule of folded up DNA, the targeted cancer cells absorbed the medicine inside the capsule and died. The laboratory test was performed against leukemia cells that had built up a resistance against the drug, however, by hiding the drug in the DNA it was once again effective.
“DNA origami nanostructures have a lot of potential for drug delivery, not just for making effective drug delivery vehicles, but enabling new ways to study drug delivery,” said Carlos Castro, director of the Laboratory for Nanoengineering and Biodesign, in a Feb. 23 press release from the University.
In the study, the researchers discovered that when leukemia cancer cells are treated with daunorubicin, a chemotherapy used to treat leukemia, after the cancer has developed a resistance to the anti-cancer drug, the medicine is fought off by being pumped out through the cell walls.
However, the researchers found that when daunorubicin was cloaked within the DNA capsule, the cancer cells actually drew the capsules in mistaking it for food. Once the capsule was inside the cell it broke down flooding the cancer with the drug, effectively killing the leukemia cells.
The technique should potentially work on most any form of drug-resistant cancer if further work shows it can be effectively translated to animal models, according to study co-author John Byrd of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This is very good news to the mesothelioma community.
Mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer that attacks the lining of the organs, is like many cancers with few effective treatments and no cure. According to many researchers, the likelihood that mesothelioma will build up a resistance to the very drugs designed to combat the cancer is extremely high. The Ohio State researchers believe that their findings can lead to a new drug delivery method that can restore the effectiveness of the anti-cancer drugs.
“Potentially, we can also tailor these structures to make them deliver drugs selectively to cancer cells and not to other parts of the body where they can cause side effects,” said Byrd.
The study was confined to laboratory cells. Results of the research must next be proven in mouse models before testing on human cancers, which could be years down the road.
To find out more about the DNA Trojan horse see the Nov. 19, 2015 issue of Small.
Deja Vu: Woman Faces 2nd Mesothelioma Diagnosis in the Family
One of the most rewarding parts of being a nurse is meeting different people, hearing their stories, and learning from them. This past week a couple in their late 60’s, he has pleural mesothelioma, were sharing how mesothelioma had been a part of their lives for quite a while. Unlike most victims of mesothelioma, though, they had been aware of the devastation that mesothelioma causes: the woman’s father had died of mesothelioma nearly forty years ago.
At that time, her father was told by his doctor to go home and get his affairs in order. She remembered how devastating the news, and his subsequent death, had been on her family. Her father’s diagnosis turned into a death sentence that happened within six months of his diagnosis.
In the fall of 2015, after her husband had not been feeling well, he was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. He was told by his local doctor that he should go home and get his affairs in order. But once this wife and daughter of mesothelioma victims was able to process the latest news, she sprung into action. Her husband’s diagnosis and care was going to be different.
Thirty years ago we did not have the internet, and this woman refused to believe that no progress had been made and that, still, nothing could be done. She found some very helpful web sites, researched some leading doctors in the field, and attempted to find any clinical trials that might apply to her husband. Together they set their plan into motion.
She also located support for herself and her husband in dealing with mesothelioma. None of these resources were available to her father or her family so long ago. As she talked about what options they now had with mesothelioma, she shared her shock that her husband and father had been told the same thing. Now, with the benefit of the internet, and progress with mesothelioma, they felt they had options.
Listening to her story, I was struck by how much still needs to be done to help the newly diagnosed mesothelioma patient. It is not easy to wade through all the on-line information, it it time consuming and not all the information is current or accurate. Clinical trials are sometimes difficult to understand, and the process to becoming enrolled in a trial, and researching options can be overwhelming. Dealing with a new cancer diagnosis and all the changes that brings in your world is a very stressful time.
The chances of a woman having a father die of mesothelioma and then her husband being diagnosed with the same disease have to be astronomically low. But this time the woman and her husband have different options and are going to fight back. Hopefully, the outcome will be much different.
If you have any questions regarding any aspect of your mesothelioma treatment, feel free to email me at [email protected].
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Researchers Identify Mutations in Mesothelioma That Can Lead to Personalized Care
Biomarkers have become the de facto reference for researchers and oncologists when determining mesothelioma diagnosis, treatment, success of those treatments and prognosis. But identifying reliable biomarkers has been challenging, primarily due to the rarity of the disease. Now, researchers at one of the leading mesothelioma centers report they have identified a “spectrum of mutations” found in mesothelioma tumors.
Mesothelioma is a serious and incurable cancer that is diagnosed in just 3,000 Americans each year. The aggressive cancer, known as “asbestos cancer” since it is almost always a direct consequence of past exposure to asbestos fibers, often eludes standard cancer treatments. Through personalized, targeted therapy, with the help of biomarkers, however, patients see improved survival and a higher quality of life.
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Boston hope to bring personalized care to many more mesothelioma patients through their recent discovery of “previously unknown genetic alterations” in mesothelioma tumors. Some of these mutations that are prominent in other cancers, according to the researchers, have available treatments that could benefit mesothelioma patients with those same mutations.
“By studying so many samples, we’ve been able to describe a spectrum of mutations for this rare disease,” says lead author Dr. Raphael Bueno, chief of BWH’s Division of Thoracic Surgery and co-director of the hospital’s Lung Center, in a Feb. 29 press release. “A small number of these mutations have been found previously in other cancers, and drugs have been developed to target these mutations.”
The researchers performed a “comprehensive genomic analysis” on 216 malignant pleural mesothelioma samples, where they compared the DNA and RNA of the mesothelioma samples and normal, healthy samples. According to the press release, the team uncovered more than 2,500 alterations, and identified 10 significantly mutated genes.
Biomarkers play a critical role in improving the drug development process, according to National Institutes of Health researchers, in addition to identifying focused care. The PD-L1 biomarker has been top-of-the-news recently with the successful treatment in mesothelioma patients and melanoma patients who express the biomarker. The immunotherapy drug blocks PD-L1.
Read more about the immunotherapy drugs and mesothelioma.
“When you have a cancer that has a 80 to 90 percent mortality rate within five years of diagnosis, and you discover evidence that a small percentage of people may have actionable mutations, that means that you could reduce mortality,” said Bueno.
Brigham and Women’s is home to the International Mesothelioma Program. Managing over 300 mesothelioma consultations per year, the International Mesothelioma Program is the largest program of its kind in the world. The Program has a mission “to offer state-of-the-art treatment to patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.”
“We plan to continue this important research through investigator-sponsored trials evaluating the potential use of cancer immunotherapies for the treatment of mesothelioma,” says Bueno.
The results of the study can be found in the Feb. 29 issue of Nature Genetics.
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Be Educated About Mesothelioma at Rare Disease Day
February 29 was rare disease day, a day to recognize and remember all those who have been afflicted with these illnesses and to pray for a cure. Mesothelioma is one of the nearly 7,000 diseases in the United States that is considered “rare;” however, to someone dealing with the effects of mesothelioma, there is no rarity to it at all.
Since mesothelioma is such a rare disease, it is understandable, but not acceptable, that the general public knows so little about it. I include myself in this lot, as I did not even realize that it was a form of cancer when my father was diagnosed. I find myself thinking about all of the missed opportunities to educate people on what meso really is instead of just those television advertisements.
Now is the perfect time to take a stand for this community. With faith, education, research, and fundraising, we can help take mesothelioma from being classified as a rare disease to an eradicated disease.
Contact your state and local representatives and ask them to push for legislation for more funding for mesothelioma research. Let them know that there are faces to this awful disease and that there is more to us than what may meet the eye. We may be a group that came together from something uncommon, but there is definite strength in our assembly.
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Free Mesothelioma Patient & Treatment Guide
We’d like to offer you our in-depth guide, “A Patient’s Guide to Mesothelioma,” absolutely free of charge.
It contains a wealth of information and resources to help you better understand the condition, choose (and afford) appropriate treatment, and exercise your legal right to compensation.
Download Now