Category: Mesothelioma

September 26 Is National Mesothelioma Awareness Day

• Nancy Meredith
• Family, Featured News, International News, Mesothelioma, National News

Each year, the mesothelioma community across the nation comes together for Mesothelioma Awareness Day, a time devoted to raising public awareness about the life-threatening cancer and its cause ─ exposure to asbestos.

Patients, family members, friends, advocates and health care professionals are encouraged to share their personal stories, struggles and inspiration in order to bring attention to the disease and further the search for a cure. 

When Is Mesothelioma Awareness Day?

Mesothelioma Awareness Day is held on Sept. 26. In 2018, September 26 falls on a Wednesday.

In an effort to expand the impact of Mesothelioma Awareness Day, advocates have encouraged patients, caregivers, family and friends to participate in Mesothelioma Awareness Week surrounding Sept. 26, as well as Mesothelioma Awareness Month throughout September.

Mesothelioma Awareness Day History

In 2004, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation organized the original Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Since then, the national nonprofit organization has continued to build momentum by promoting the day as a time for all those touched by the cancer to talk about its impact.

In 2010, Congress joined the effort by establishing Mesothelioma Awareness Day as a time for the nation to recognize that thousands of Americans are diagnosed with the preventable cancer each year. In fact, despite its designation as a known carcinogen, asbestos is still not banned in the United States, and Americans are still at risk of exposure.

The Importance of Awareness Day

The National Mesothelioma Awareness Day resolution asks that the President of the United States issue a proclamation calling for all Americans, federal agencies and departments, state governments, local municipalities, organizations, and news media to properly observe the day.

The Congressional Declaration outlines these key facts about malignant mesothelioma as reasons for promoting awareness of the deadly asbestos cancer:

• Although workers who were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis over a long period of time are most at risk of developing mesothelioma, even short-term exposures can cause the disease. In fact, exposure to asbestos for as little as one month can result in mesothelioma 20 to 50 years later.
• Asbestos materials were used in the construction of virtually all office buildings, public schools, and homes built before 1975. Still today, asbestos is used in more than 3,000 products being sold in the United States.
• The National Institutes of Health reported to Congress in 2006 that mesothelioma is a difficult disease to detect, diagnose and treat.
• For decades, the need to develop treatments for mesothelioma was overlooked. Still today, even the best mesothelioma treatments usually have a very limited effect, with the expected survival time of 8 to 14 months.
• It is believed that many of the firefighters, rescue workers and police officers from Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, may be at increased risk of developing mesothelioma in the future due to asbestos exposure at the site.

Every year, about 3,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with mesothelioma. Around the world, an estimated 38,400 people die each year from the devastating asbestos illness.

Unfortunately, those numbers are not dwindling. Mesothelioma statistics indicate an increase in deaths in recent years, with an 8 percent increase in fatalities in the United States for the 10-year period that ended in 2015.

These facts point to the importance of Mesothelioma Awareness Day in educating people about the dangers of asbestos and promoting the need for continued research into more effective treatments.

Paint the World in Mesothelioma Awareness

Just as breast cancer is associated with the color pink, support for mesothelioma awareness is often represented by a colored ribbon. The mesothelioma awareness color is blue or pearl.

Friends and family members of patients typically don pearl or blue ribbons in a show of solidarity with their loved ones who are fighting the life-threatening disease.

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation also encourages people to participate in its “Paint the World in Mesothelioma Blue” campaign to raise awareness by wearing blue and sharing photos of themselves on social media.

How You Can Show Support on Mesothelioma Awareness Day

Since its founding, the nonprofit Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has advocated for patients and families while coordinating fundraising events to support research efforts related to the disease. This national organization is committed to finding a cure for mesothelioma and ending the suffering it causes.

One way to show your support on Mesothelioma Awareness Day is to make a donation to the Meso Foundation. Your contribution will help fund the organization’s efforts to support mesothelioma patients and the ongoing search for a cure.

You may also choose to show your support by wearing (and asking others to wear):

• Mesothelioma awareness ribbons
• Mesothelioma awareness pins
• Mesothelioma awareness bracelets
• Mesothelioma awareness wristbands
• Mesothelioma awareness shirts

At Mesothelioma Help Cancer Organization, we aim to raise awareness year-round, in particular through our Mesothelioma Awareness Scholarship Contest. As part of this contest, students submit essays sharing their own experiences with mesothelioma as well as their efforts for raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos. We encourage the students to share their essays on social media to help spread the word.

Quick Facts to Share on Mesothelioma Awareness Day

• Asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma. It has also been shown to cause lung cancer.
• Asbestos was commonly used on Navy ships and in shipyards. Veterans account for approximately one-third of mesothelioma diagnoses.
• Industrial workers and construction workers are at an increased risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases.
• Family members of those who worked with asbestos may have faced secondhand exposure through fibers brought home on clothing or skin.
• Although the U.S. government has safety regulations in place, it has not banned the use of asbestos.
• There is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
• Renovation projects on older homes and demolition of older buildings can put people at risk of asbestos exposure.
• Never try to remove asbestos materials on your own. Contact an asbestos abatement professional.
• Companies that made asbestos products understood the health risks but failed to warn the public.
• Mesothelioma patients and families may be entitled to compensation for damages due to asbestos exposure.
• Even if an asbestos company has gone out of business, funds may be available in a bankruptcy trust for mesothelioma victims.

Sources:

• Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
  https://www.curemeso.org/get-involved/get-involved-events/mesothelioma-awareness-day
• Make a Donation
  https://www.curemeso.org/donate

Study Shows Pleural Mesothelioma Patients Live Longer With Trimodal Therapy

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News, Pleural Mesothelioma

One of the biggest challenges in pleural mesothelioma care is determining which treatments to use on patients.

Oncologists are faced with deciding if a patient will benefit from surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, or a combination of the three.

Although each case is different, when mesothelioma patients are candidates for all of the options, which approach is the best?

Researchers report the results of a recent in-depth review of thousands of mesothelioma patient records points to the best survival when all three therapies are used.

A team of researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center selected 20,561 malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patient records, from the National Cancer Database for the years from 2004 to 2014, to evaluate patient survival. Noting that MPM is an “aggressive and rapidly fatal disease,” the team set out to determine the key predictors of mesothelioma patient survival.

Specifically, the team wanted to assess the difference in patients who first had mesothelioma surgery, then went on to have chemotherapy and/or radiation versus patients who did not have surgery.

The team narrowed the number of patients evaluated down to 6,645 from the initial selection and compared the results of patients with the following breakdown of treatment approaches:

• 2,166 underwent no therapy
• 2,015 underwent chemotherapy alone
• 850 underwent cancer-directed surgery alone
• 988 underwent surgery with chemotherapy
• 274 underwent trimodality therapy

The remaining 352 patients underwent another combination of surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

Although the researchers found that while any of the treatments alone were associated with improved survival, when chemotherapy and radiation followed cancer-directed surgery the” largest estimated effect was realized.”

Most importantly, patients diagnosed with epithelioid mesothelioma, the most common and treatable histological subtype of mesothelioma diagnosed in more than half of all mesothelioma cases, who received trimodal care had a median survival of 23.4 months vs. 14.5 months.

The team concluded that for mesothelioma patients, “Surgery-based multimodality therapy was associated with improved survival and may offer therapeutic benefit among carefully selected patients.”

MD Anderson’s Mesothelioma Program is comprised of a team of more than 30 experts representing medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists and pathologists who work closely together to customize the best treatment for each patient.

Everyone on the team is considered an expert in their field and in mesothelioma. The Center cares for more patients with mesothelioma than almost any other center in the U.S., according to its website.

Read the full study in the Aug. 17 issue of Journal Of Clinical Oncology.

Drug Targeting Biomarker Could Bring New, Personalized Treatment to Mesothelioma Patients

• Nancy Meredith
• Mesothelioma

Last month, MesotheliomaHelp reported on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s first-ever approval of an immunotherapy drug that targets a particular biomarker, regardless of cancer type. Now, researchers report they have developed another anti-cancer drug that targets just one biomarker and that it has shown “dramatic antitumor effect” across all 17 cancer types tested.

In a report presented by David Hyman, M.D., Chief of the Early Drug Development Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting, researchers found that when the tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) biomarker was targeted by the experimental drug larotrectinib (LOXO-101) “the vast majority of both adults and children whose tumors have this [TRK] mutation” responded to the treatment.

Across three pivotal clinical trials covering 17 tumor types, larotrectinib resulted in a 76% overall response rate in 55 adult and pediatric cancer patients with the TRK mutation. According to the report, of those who responded, 89% were progression-free at the time the data were analyzed, indicating that the cancer had not gotten worse in those patients since starting treatment. These positive results “are potentially practice changing,” said the researchers.

“We are seeing the true potential of precision medicine come to life,” says Dr. Hyman, in a June 3 press release announcing the findings. “It’s groundbreaking to have such a consistent response across multiple cancer types.”

Dr. Hyman said that this is the first cancer therapy to be developed simultaneously in adults and children. He also added that in patients with a cancer carrying the TRK fusion, “it’s found in every cancer cell in that patient.”

Personalized medicine is considered one of the best ways to combat mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer. Tailored care ensures a mesothelioma patient’s unique disease characteristics, including the cancer’s genetic makeup, are targeted when being treated. Research has shown that with targeted therapy success of the treatment is higher.

According to a 2014 article in ScienceDaily, the TRK gene was first identified in 1982, but researchers are only now focusing on the family of biomarkers as a target to treat cancers. The family of TRK genes, including NTRK1, NTRK2 and NTRK3, have shown up in many cancers, including lung, breast, and melanoma.

Dr. Hyman notes that the TRK fusions are rare within most individual cancers. Mesothelioma patients should work with their oncologist to determine if they are TRK positive and if there is a clinical trial that could work for them.

Both the FDA and European Medicines Agency have granted orphan drug designation for larotrectinib (LOXO-101) for treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

For more information about the LOX-101 clinical trials visit Loxo Oncology’s website, or read more about the NAVIGATE clinical trial at ClinicalTrials.gov.

Sources

• ClinicalTrials.gov
  https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=%22malignant+mesothelioma%22&recr=Open&pg=1
• Loxo Oncology’s website
  https://www.loxooncology.com/patients-caregivers/our-clinical-trials
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
  https://www.mskcc.org/blog/asco17-drug-targeting-genetic-mutation-works-across-all-tumor-types

Mesothelioma-Fighting Benefits Found in Osteoporosis Drug

• Nancy Meredith
• Mesothelioma

In April, MesotheliomaHelp reported on the potential benefits of using a drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in the fight against mesothelioma. Now, researchers report a drug used in the treatment of osteoporosis may also help mesothelioma patients.

Researchers from the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a pilot study to evaluate the antitumor activity, duration of response, and progression-free survival of malignant pleural mesothelioma patients treated with zoledronic acid. Given as an intravenous infusion, zoledronic acid is used to treat osteoporosis, a condition characterized by low bone density, decreased bone strength and increased susceptibility to fractures.

The drug is also sometimes used with cancer chemotherapy treatments to treat bone problems that may occur with various cancers, including lung cancer, that have spread to the bones, according to WebMD. The drug lowers high blood calcium levels by reducing the amount of calcium released from the bones into the blood, as well as slowing the breakdown of bones by cancer, aiding in the prevention of bone fractures.

Preclinical studies showed that zoledronic acid could inhibit mesothelioma growth through apoptosis (cell death), and by inhibiting the growth of new blood vessels, as well as through other means. To assess these results, the researchers used zoledronic acid to treat eight patients with unresectable pleural mesothelioma who had progressed on prior treatments.

The team reported positive results including median progression-free survival of two months and median overall survival of seven months, with no toxicities in the patients. In addition, the team found that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) amounts “were predictive of favorable response.” VEGF is an autocrine growth factor released by mesothelioma cells, causing new blood vessels to form, and is shown to be higher in mesothelioma patients.

“Our pilot study suggests modest activity of zoledronic acid as a single agent in the treatment of mesothelioma and warrants further investigation in combination with other agents,” the researchers concluded.

Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer that invades the lining of the organs after exposure to asbestos. The disease can take decades to develop, but once diagnosed, patients often receive a prognosis of less than 18 months. However, effective treatment can improve survival and quality of life.

Using a drug already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lessens the time and costs for approval of the same drug for other diseases.

To find out more, read the full study in Lung Cancer: Targets and Therapy.

NY Doctor Says Lingering Effects of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks May Impact Millions, Mesothelioma Cases Likely to Rise

• Nancy Meredith
• Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma Help has reported numerous times on the long-term health effects many Americans face from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York City. Now, a world renowned mesothelioma expert reports that millions may have a serious health issue as a result of the toxic dust fallout.

In a June 3 article in 9 News.com.au, Dr. Raja Flores of Mount Sinai Medical Center claims anyone who was in New York City during the collapse of the Twin Towers, and during the days following, could have been exposed to asbestos. He said NY doctors have seen more cancers and a higher number of patients with respiratory issues. Dr. Flores believes there could be a “double or tripling of the number of lung cancers in people who were in New York City on 9/11 and mesothelioma and people dying of pleural fibrosis from asbestos is.”

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs linked to inhaling asbestos. According to reports, about 400 tons of asbestos were used in the twin towers, and upon the collapse, asbestos and other toxic substances such as mercury and lead were released into the air. Today, close to 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

“It [toxic dust] contaminated a huge portion of the city and that entire population was exposed,” Dr. Flores, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital, NY, told nine.com.au. “In 15-20 years we are going to see a serious health issue here in New York. We haven’t even seen the tip of this iceberg yet.”

Dr. Flores is a world renowned expert in mesothelioma, lung cancer, and esophageal cancer. He serves as Mount Sinai Cancer Center’s Chairman for the Department of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Flores conducted a landmark study in 2008, titled “Extra pleural Pneumonectomy versus Pleurectomy Decortication in the management of malignant pleural mesothelioma,” that was one of the most frequently cited studies from the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Access to Health Care Through James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and WTC Program

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, passed in 2010, provides $4.3 billion  in compensation and health monitoring services to rescue workers and NY residents harmed by toxic dust and smoke from the 9/11 attacks. The Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), created under the Zadroga Act, is operated under the Department of Justice. Through this, some cancer victims can file for compensation.

The act also established the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program. The WTC Health Program “offers annual monitoring, and treatment, including  medication, at no cost, to eligible WTC workers and volunteers, for both physical and mental health conditions related to their WTC service.” It also provides health evaluations and treatment for survivors who were in the New York City disaster area.

To find out if you are eligible for support under the WTC Health Program visit http://www.cdc.gov/wtc/ or call 1-888-982-4748.

Anyone who has a WTC-related health condition, of which mesothelioma is one, the WTC Health Program’s healthcare providers will provide quality medical treatment for the patient. The program reports that the basis for adding mesothelioma to the list was due to exposure to chrysotile asbestos from the buildings. The program set a minimum latency of 11 years for mesothelioma for certification in the WTC Health Program. This minimum has now been exceeded making this cancer a real concern for many.

“It’s [asbestos] one of the most dangerous substances around. Every day I operate (I see) patients that have been affected by asbestos is. The safe amount of asbestos in the air for someone to inhale is zero. There’s no safe amount,” said Dr Flores.

According to Dr. Flores, having a low dose CAT yearly to see if you have any signs of asbestos exposure in your lungs is the best option for those present during the 9/11 tragedy.

Anyone who believes they may have been affected by the 9/11 events is encouraged to file any and all appropriate claims to ensure your health will be monitored and, in the event you become ill, you receive your share of the financial compensation set aside for victims.