Mesothelioma Cancer Resources Blog

Source: WebMD An expert panel from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has conclusively determined that asbestos causes cancer of the larynx. The IOM report aggregated findings from 34 different studies and concluded that people who are exposed to asbestos have a forty percent greater chance of developing cancer of the larynx than do people without …

Source: Alfacell Corporation Alfacell has announced more pre-clinical successes for ONCOCASE, it’s leading drug candidate. The latest results, published in the journal Cancer Letters, show that ONCONASE “inhibits neuroblastoma cell growth and induces caspase-independent cell death in neuroblastoma cells independently of P-gp expression or p53 status….” Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in the nerve …

Source: WNYC-New York Public Radio The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has released a report criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s asbestos-response to the tragic events of Septemper 11th. The GAO report says that the EPA “mis-led” the public regarding the presence of asbestos in apartments near the former World Trade Center. The EPA said that only …

Source: CancerMonthly.com Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco’s Comprehensive Cancer Center have recently identified a gene that is significantly overexpressed in mesothelioma malignancies. The gene, known as stathmin, has previously been implicated in other forms of cancer that show a similar aggressiveness and chemoresistancy to mesothelioma. Stathmin is important to the regulation …

Source: US Senate U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Opening Statement of U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works EPW Hearing on the Health Effects of Asbestos Remarks as prepared for delivery June 12, 2007 This is an important hearing for millions of Americans who have been exposed …

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sen. Patty Murray, Democrat from Wisconsin, hopes to finally see her act to ban asbestos become law this year. The “Ban Asbestos in American Act of 2007″ was the focus of a hearing that took place on June 12 in the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. Sen. Murray first introduced a …

Source: Medical News Today A recent Phase III study conducted by the Norwegian Lung Cancer Group has shown that a combination of ALIMTA plus carboplatin has enhanced quality-of-life benefits over the traditional therapies used for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The randomized, multicenter study enrolled 446 chemonaive patients with either Stage III-B or Stage …

Source: Medpage Today Once again, a study has demonstrated that the combination of pemetrexed with either cisplatin or carboplatin has demonstrated activity in previously untreated malignant pleural mesothelioma. The pemetrexed-cisplatin group led to an overall response rate of 26.3% in 745 mesothelioma patients, and the combination of pemetrexed and carboplatin was associated with an overall …