Nurse Reminds Us of the Importance of Mesothelioma Awareness Day

September 26th of each year is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. The day has been made possible by the efforts of many volunteers over many years. Established as a national day through a proclamation by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, this day has been set aside since 2010 to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos. Currently, 12 states and 34 cities have also proclaimed September 26th Mesothelioma Awareness Day.

According to Disabled World, “An awareness date is defined as a national or international awareness day, week, or month, and is a date usually set by a major organization or government, to commemorate medical research, or ethical cause of importance, on a national or international level.”

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, the non-profit for mesothelioma awareness and promotion of research for a cure for mesothelioma, has been instrumental in getting recognition of this day. The activities that are planned include wearing blue to raise awareness, fundraisers throughout the country, and supporters at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on the morning of the 26th for the broadcast of The Today Show.

The mesothelioma community needs to use this day as an opportunity to support the victims and their families of this dreadful disease. Research into any cancer is challenging, but into a rare cancer is even more so. By raising awareness, and educating the public and government officials about the importance of funding research, we can all bring hope to the victims of this rare cancer.

Wear blue, participate in a fundraiser, tell people about mesothelioma, do what you can on September 26th, and throughout the year, to help support mesothelioma patients and their families.

Lung Cancer Awareness Month - Mesothelioma

Researchers Seek to Understand Why Lungs Are Susceptible To Cancer

The body has a cadre of defense mechanisms that work together to fight off illness and diseases. When they fail, however, a person can be left fighting a deadly disease like mesothelioma. Now, researchers believe that the same defense meant to prevent people from having a reaction to breathing in daily environmental exposures could be the same mechanism that allows cancer cells to spread and grow in the lungs.

According to an Aug. 25 press release from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, researchers report that the oxygen breathed in can suppress immune responses to cancer. They found that oxygen-sensing proteins, or PHD cells, limit inflammation by T-cells, the cells in the immune system that kill bacteria and cancer. In the “highly oxygenated lung microenvironment” the PHDs limit the T-cell functions, thus, setting the lung up as a “fertile ground for metastasis.”

“The same ‘normal’ mechanisms put in place to suppress immune responses against harmless material taken into the body during the act of breathing can also suppress immune responses to the colonizing cancer cells that lead to metastatic tumors in the lungs,” said David Clever, PhD, first author of the manuscript and a current medical student at Ohio State. “This creates an immunologically favorable niche – meaning the environment is prime for cancer cells to slip through the immune system’s defenses, thrive and grow in the lungs.”

The American Cancer Society reports that it is cancer metastasis, and not the original cancer diagnosis itself, that is the cause of nearly all cancer deaths. In fact, 90 percent of all cancer deaths are due to metastasis. Lung cancer and mesothelioma can spread to other organs of the body, including spreading to the other lung.

Mesothelioma, an unusual form of cancer caused by breathing in asbestos fibers, can take decades to show symptoms. Mesothelioma treatment follows a similar treatment protocol to lung cancer, so each new discovery related to lung cancer brings hope to the patient community.

The Ohio State team found that by blocking the PHD proteins, they could enhance T-cell responses against cancer and limit metastasis to the lung. Through testing the theory in mice using adoptive cell transfer immunotherapy, or manipulation and re-injection of T-cells, the researchers were hopeful their findings could lead to new therapies.

“Although our finding is in mice, we are eager to test whether disruption of the oxygen sensing machinery in T cells — with drugs, genetics, or regulation of environmental oxygen — will enhance the efficacy of T-cell mediated immune therapies for cancer in humans.”

2,500 to 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the U.S. There is no cure for the cancer, however, immunotherapy treatments, available to limited patients, have shown success in extending survival in mesothelioma patients.

The study can be found in the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Cell.

Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.

Making Friends Amid the Heartbreak of Mesothelioma

When my father was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, I felt completely alone. Everyone in my family was doing their best, each in our own way, to process the news, and try to figure out what to do next. Immediately, we were granted a miracle and were contacted by a stranger who helped to point us in the right direction. That stranger is now our extended family. He and his family have become close friends of ours and we are so blessed that God placed them in our lives.

One by one, people began to come out of the woodwork, offering their support and telling me about their own experiences with this disease. Largely, thanks to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, I realized that we weren’t alone. There were people who had dedicated their lives to helping others just like my Dad, and who were there for me as well.

Over the course of the last four years, I am honored to have become an active member of the mesothelioma community. I have formed friendships with men and women all around the world, our common bond being unfortunate and unwilling members of this club. These individuals inspire me in so many ways. I have learned from them, laughed and cried with them, and worked with them toward our common goal of finding a cure.

To all of my mesothelioma family, thank you for showing me how to carry myself with grace in the face of heartbreak, just like you all do. You motivate me to do more, and I am truly humbled by your constant love and support.

Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.

miRNAs Could Be the Key to New, Effective Treatments

Finding a way to stop lung cancer and mesothelioma cells from dividing and growing continues to confound scientists. While many treatments can kill off the cancer cells, there are always some rogue cells that escape death leading to metastasis. Now, researchers report they have discovered a new class of RNA molecules that fuel lung cancer, and targeting them could lead to new, effective treatments for the deadly cancers.

A team of researchers from Singapore report in a July 12 press release they have discovered a new class of microRNAs (miRNAs), called oncomiRs, hidden within cancer stem cells, that drive growth and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer. The miRNAs, designated as miR-1246 and miR-1290, are “crucial drivers” of tumor growth and progression, the researchers reported.

microRNAs, or miRNAs, are tiny molecules found within cells that serve a function in primary biological processes such as organ development, fat metabolism, cell proliferation and death. When miRNAs function properly, a person remains healthy. However, “disregulation” of miRNAs can lead to diseases, including mesothelioma and other cancers.

The researchers targeted the cancer stem cells, calling them “the major culprits for relapse in lung cancer,” with a new class of therapeutics known as locked nucleic acid (LNA). Using the LNAs they “successfully obliterated human lung tumours grown in mice models.”

MicroRNAs play a large role in the regulation of gene expression and have the potential to serve as biomarkers because they exhibit properties identifiable with specific type of tumors. To that end, the researchers concluded, “these miRNAs [miR-1246 and miR-1290] are clinically useful as biomarkers for tracking disease progression and as therapeutic targets.”

Malignant mesothelioma is a form of cancer that occurs in the thin layer of tissue that surrounds the lungs, abdomen and heart. Asbestos exposure is the only proven cause of mesothelioma. Treatment for the terminal cancer closely follows that of lung cancer. Any breakthrough that leads to a better understanding of the diagnosis, treatment and management of lung cancer brings hope to the mesothelioma community.

Up to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Currently, there is no cure for the disease.

The authors of the study said that the “findings provide fresh insight into understanding therapy resistance in lung cancer and unveil new avenues to monitor and treat the disease more effectively.”

“This will enable scientists and oncologists to improve patient stratification, and to develop therapeutic methods that are targeted, precise, and can reach tumours in the quickest time possible,” said GIS Executive Director Prof Ng Huck Hui.

The team is now collaborating with pharmaceutical companies to develop a drug to be administered to humans.

Results of the study can be found in the June 21 issue of Nature Communications.

Cancer Research Get Boost from Stand Up To Cancer Telecast

Dozens of celebrities came together on stage Sept. 9 for the fifth biennial telecast of StandUp2Cancer (SU2C (http://www.aacr.org/NEWSROOM/PAGES/NEWS-RELEASE-LISTING.ASPX)) and used their star power to raise awareness and funds towards fighting cancer. SU2C’s event was focused on raising money for ground-breaking, collaborative cancer research, while educating the public about the challenges of cancer. The hour-long, commercial free show was broadcast simultaneously across Canada and the U.S. on over 60 channels including the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC; Fox; USA; VH1; Bravo and HBO.

Stand Up To Cancer Canada (SU2C Canada), a Canadian registered charity, is proud to announce the Hollywood community is once again joining forces to support Stand Up To Cancer's sixth biennial televised fundraising special, the third inclusive of Canada, on Friday, Sept. 7 (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT / 7:00 PM CT). Mahershala Ali, Kathy Bates, Katie Couric, Jennifer Garner, Tony Hale, Marg Helgenberger, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Marlee Matlin, Matthew McConaughey, Maria Menounos, Jillian Michaels, Trevor Noah, Dak Prescott, Rob Riggle, Karla Souza, David Spade, Keith Urban, Reese Witherspoon and Canadian Italia Ricci will participate in this memorable event — marking 10 years since the first telecast and 10 years of SU2C's lifesaving research achievements – and four years after the launch of Stand Up To Cancer Canada. Additional stars and performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

“SU2C’s mission, to ensure that all cancer patients become cancer survivors, is one that is very close to my heart,” said the show’s executive producer and Academy Award-nominated actor Bradley Cooper, who lost his father, Charles Cooper, to lung cancer in 2011.

This theme was evident throughout the hour as celebrities who had battled cancer and survived, including Rita Wilson and Kathy Bates, urged viewers to get screened to prevent cancer or to participate in trials if they have already been diagnosed. They also lauded SU2C’s initiative to raise money critically important to fund “Dream Teams” with a goal to end cancer.

“I wouldn’t be standing here tonight if it wasn’t for the progress research has made in recent decades,” said Bates.

SU2C Dream Teams Bring Hope to Cancer Patients

The hour-long telethon presented facts and statistics, research information, and real-life stories that remind us all that cancer is far too prevalent in the United States, but that it can be beaten. SU2C-funded researchers, primarily funded through dream teams, have planned, launched or completed more than 160 clinical trials involving more than 9,000 patients, leading to FDA approval of two treatments, according to SU2C’s Sept. 1 press release (http://www.standup2cancer.org/press_release/view/more_stars_join_su2c_telecast_on_sept._9_will_rally_viewers_by_sharing_publ).

Viewers got a firsthand account from Mitch Carbon, a teen leukemia patient who was out of treatment options and had prepared himself for death until he was accepted into a clinical trial. The immunotherapy clinical trial, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from the St. Baldrick’s Pediatric Cancer Dream Team, gave him his life back and now he is a freshman in college hoping to enter a field where he can give back to other cancer patients.

100% of the monies raised during the telethon go directly to grants supporting cancer research. Since its first broadcast in 2008, Stand Up to Cancer has raised more than $370 million. The effort has funded 19 dream teams and six translational research teams. The SU2C dream teams “pursue the most promising research, accelerating the discovery of new therapies for cancer patients and/or advancing efforts in cancer prevention research.”

New Dream Team Targets Mutation in Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Patients

This year, a new dream team focused on KRAS-positive lung cancer, one of the most aggressive subtypes of lung cancer, is being funded through SU2C.

Following is the team’s plan, according to the SU2C website:

“The team has devised a three-pronged approach to create new treatments for patients with KRAS-mutant lung cancers. First, the researchers will identify the most effective therapies for targeting KRAS and other related biological pathways. Second, they will develop approaches to exploit the immune system for the treatment of KRAS-mutant lung cancers. Third, they will integrate targeted therapies with immunotherapies as a novel combined approach to treatment of KRAS-mutant lung cancer.”

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. As a result, mesothelioma patients struggling to find effective treatments for the incurable cancer stand to benefit greatly from the amazing results of the SU2C Dream Teams. Continued funding, support and collaboration of these teams bring hope to the millions of Americans who battle cancer each year, as well as the 3,000 Americans diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

Cancer research is expensive and time-consuming, and for research related to a rare disease, such as mesothelioma, the costs can be even higher. Events such as this not only bring in much-needed funds, but they also raise awareness of the devastation cancer causes to patients and their families.

“We’re at a tipping point in the fight against cancer – the science and technology is there,” said Vice President Joe Biden who appeared on the stage. “We are on the cusp of ending cancer as we know it.”

Visit SU2C to find out more about the initiative.

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