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Cancer Rates Fall, but Lung Cancer Still Problematic, Report Says

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Source: CNN

A report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has shown that—for the first time—rates of both cancer deaths and new cancer diagnoses are falling for men and women in America. The report aggregates data from a number of the country’s top medical organizations to show that the battle against cancer is slowly turning in the favor of people and science.

The report states that while deaths from cancer have been falling for a number of years now, this is the first time that a study has shown a similar decrease in the total number of new diagnoses. From 1999 to 2005, the overall rate of new diagnoses dropped 0.8 percent per year. Within the aggregate numbers, the drop was also seen when analyzed in terms of gender. Among men, rates of death and new cases were seen falling for colon cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer—which are the most common forms of the disease in men—and in women a similar drop was seen in their most common cancers, breast cancer and colon cancer.

However, when the numbers were analyzed in terms of geography, a more complex picture emerged. Even as the overall national numbers showed a decline, the report states that in 18 Southern and Midwestern states, lung cancer incidences and deaths were still increasing. The lead author of the study, Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, attributes this to the higher rate of smoking in these states. Cigarette smoking is involved in upwards of 80% of lung cancer cases and has been implicated in a number of other cancers as well. Overall, cigarette smoking has been declining across the country, but a number of Southern states, especially, have not implemented smoking cessation programs as effectively as have states in the Northeast or the West, so these states still feature higher rates of smoking as compared to the national average.

The full report provides a much more complete overview of the relationship between Americans and cancer deaths and diagnoses than this summary allows, but the report’s authors, as well as those who’ve reviewed its findings, attribute the positive trend lines identified to improvements in the available treatments as well as to stepped-up prevention efforts.

Labels: cancer, LungCancer

posted by Joseph DiCastro at 3:24 PM
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Genetic Trait Could Predict Lung Cancer

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Source: Washington Post

A number of interesting findings on lung cancer were recently presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington, D.C. In one presentation, researchers announced the results of a very small scale study that looked at the ability of particular genetic markers to predict the onset of lung cancer in current and former cigarette smokers. That cigarettes directly cause lung cancer has been well-documented for decades now, but scientists are still looking for markers to indicate which smokers will develop cancer and which will not. In this study, the researchers were investigating if they could test for particular types of DNA damage in smokers that were indicative of increased likelihood of carcinogenesis. Although their work is still quite preliminary, their results were strong enough to justify another round of study. The researchers are hopeful that a simple mouth swab will one day be available for this purpose.

In another presentation at the meeting, a different set of researchers presented results that showed that current and former smokers who consumed raw cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, collard greens and some Chinese vegetables, were much less likely to develop lung cancer than those who did not.

Labels: LungCancer

posted by Belluck & Fox at 11:04 AM
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Study: Pill as Good as Chemo for Some Patients

Monday, November 24, 2008

Source: CNN

The Lancet has recently published the results of a large scale study which demonstrated that the anti-cancer pill Iressa was just as effective as a second-line treatment against lung cancer as the chemotherapy agent Taxotere. Patients on Iressa had a median survival of 7.6 months and 32 percent of patients survived one year, while patients who received Taxotere demonstrated median survival of 8 months and 34 percent of patients survived one year. The real difference between the therapies was seen in the side effects associated with each of them: Iressa patients mainly experienced skin rashes and mild diarrhea, while Taxotore patients experienced a number of severe side effects, such as hair loss and numbness. In many cases, patients who start on Taxotore do not complete the full chemotherapy course because of these side effects.

The FDA fast-tracked Iressa for lung cancer treatment in 2003, but since 2005 has not allowed its use in new patients. Currently, only people who were already on it or those who were taking part in a clinical trial that had prior approval for the study of Iressa are able to receive it. Whether the results of this study will cause a change in the FDA’s approval structure is still unknown.

Labels: chemotherapy, LungCancer

posted by Joseph DiCastro at 11:32 AM
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EU Calls for New Rules on Dismantling Ships

Friday, November 21, 2008

Source: Associated Press

The European Union is calling for the development of new rules that govern the breakup of oil tankers and other large shipping vessels to better protect workers and environmental interests. Because most of the yards where ships are torn down are now located in Southeast Asia, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas is also calling for financial aid and technical assistance to countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh that are directly affected by the break down of these ships.

The EU is concerned about the affects that ship break down has on workers involved in the physical dismantling of the ships, as well as the environmental problems that are associated with improper handling of toxic chemicals and other substances. Many of these vessels were built with asbestos and other hazardous materials, so their break down requires proper training and equipment – two things that some shipyards in Southeast Asia have not been able to provide.

The problem is especially acute because new regulations enacted by the EU and the USA are phasing out single-hulled oil tankers in favor of the use of double-hulled tankers, which are safer and less likely to be involved in catastrophic oil spills.

Labels: asbestos

posted by Belluck & Fox at 3:51 PM
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Grow Your Own: Tissue Engineering Saves Patient’s Lung

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Source: Ars Technica

Organ transplant has revolutionized the treatment of a number of disorders, from various forms of cancer to otherwise diseased, yet non-malignant, conditions as well. There are, however, a number of problems with the practice of organ transplant that can present multiple issues for effective disease management. One problem is a purely quantitative issue: organ transplant requires the availability of organs for transplant – there are a limited number of organs available, so everyone who needs one is unlikely to receive the necessary organ. An even more pressing issue relates to the immune system reaction to a foreign organ: great care must be taken so that the recipient’s body accepts the new organ and does not fight it as a foreign antigen. Much progress has been made on this issue in recent years, but the possibility of tissue rejection always remains.

One of the great promises of stem cell science is the possibility that scientists will be able to “grow” replacement organs made from an individuals’ own cells. This would mean that diseased or otherwise faulty organs could be replaced or healed through the introduction of new tissue that was developed from the individual’s own body, which would remove the possibility of tissue rejection by the immune system. The patient’s body would then see the additional tissue as its own tissue so it would not organize resistance against it.

One of the first examples of the successful engineering of tissue from stem cells has been described in an article published in The Lancet. A Spanish woman with a damaged trachea received a graft of a donated trachea that was treated with her own cells. This treatment involved using her cells to grow new sections of this donated trachea, which was then implanted in her. After a month, physicians were unable to note the difference between her “natural” airways and the donated tissue.

The graft has successfully saved this woman’s lung, and life, and represents a major breakthrough in organ engineering. We are likely still years away from this type of engineering being deployed generally, but the hope among doctors and scientists is that techniques such as these can be deployed for the treatment of a wide variety of conditions, such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Labels: treatments

posted by Belluck & Fox at 11:10 AM
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Asbestos Deaths Still Rising In Trades

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Source: Environmental-Expert

Environmental Expert is running an article highlighting the asbestos awareness campaign that is being promoted by the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The campaign, entitled Asbestos: The Hidden Killer Campaign attempts to educate the British public, especially tradesmen such as plumbers, joiners and electricians about the continued dangers of asbestos exposure. The article notes that asbestos-related deaths among these workers are growing, likely because individuals do not realize that asbestos is present in many houses and old buildings, so precautions designed to cut down on exposures are not taken.

The article states that 20 tradesmen are killed a week and more than 4000 people die a year from these exposures, with mesothelioma the most lethal and feared of the diseases. The HSE hopes that their awareness campaign will motivate people to take greater precautions in areas in which asbestos is likely to be found.

Labels: asbestos

posted by Belluck & Fox at 3:32 PM
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Asbestos-Related Pleural and Lung Fibrosis in patients with Retroperitoneal Fibrosis

Monday, November 17, 2008

Source: Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a relatively rare disorder characterized by the growth of fibrous tissue along the vessels that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Depending on the size of the masses formed, the urine can be completely blocked from passage and left untreated the RPF can cause kidney failure. Little is actually known about the condition and no single cause has been determined for it. It has been suggested that exposure to asbestos may be an independent factor for its appearance and a recent study among Finnish RPF patients indicated that exposures to the mineral were common in almost 20% of these patients. The literature on this relationship is still, however, quite small and much more research is needed to properly understand it.

The researchers who conducted the study on RPF and asbestos exposure in Finland have recently announced the results of another study they conducted, this time looking at the existence of common asbestos-related pleural and lung disorders among RPF patients. They analyzed 16 RPF patients without asbestos exposures, 22 patients with known exposures and 18 people without RPF who also had asbestos exposures. Their results showed a number of interesting findings among these patients groups.

High resolution CT imaging showed that 16 of the 22 RPF patients with asbestos exposures had some form of asbestos-related pathology in their chests. The authors report that the “prevalence of pleural plaques, DPT [diffuse pleural thickening] and lung fibrosis found in the asbestos-exposed RPF patients was similar to that determined for the asbestos-exposed controls…” In noting that the majority of the asbestos-exposed RPF patients demonstrated some form of asbestos-related pleural fibrosis, they also stated that RPF patients without asbestos exposure were not associated with these kinds of issues.

The authors recommend that all patients with RPF be evaluated for asbestos exposure. Not all cases of RPF are associated with asbestos, but those that are associated with it are likely to demonstrate asbestos-related pleural pathologies as well.

Labels: asbestos

posted by Joseph DiCastro at 4:18 PM
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Pathways Affected by Asbestos Exposure in Normal and Tumour Tissue of Lung Cancer Patients

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Source: Bio Med Central

One of the primary goals of contemporary asbestos research is a better understanding of the underlying biological changes that lead from exposure to asbestos to the development of mesothelioma or lung cancer. Medical science has known for decades that exposure to the mineral is a primary causative agent of lung cancer and is the only known cause of mesothelioma, but an understanding of the precise cellular activity that leads to carcinogenesis has, thus far, eluded research scientists. A number of important studies have been conducted on this topic and their results have certainly led to a greater understanding of these processes, but much more research is needed before we can truly grasp the totality of biological events responsible for these malignancies.

In an effort to learn more about these processes, a team of Finnish and German researchers conducted a study that investigated the signaling pathways involved with asbestos-inducted lung cancer. Their paper describing this research has recently been published.

The researchers conducted gene expression analysis on 28 patients with lung cancer: 14 with a history of asbestos exposure and 14 who were not exposed to the mineral. They found significant differences in the normal and malignant tissues between the two groups and concluded that asbestos-induced lung cancer is mediated by different signaling pathways and molecular activity than is non-asbestos-induced lung cancer. The researchers specifically note “up-regulation of the pathways associated with ion transport and down-regulation of the functions related to protein ubiquitination” between the two populations.

It is hoped that the information learned from this study, as well as similar ones, will lead to better treatment options for people with asbestos-induced lung cancer.

Labels: asbestos, LungCancer

posted by Belluck & Fox at 11:23 AM
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Health Officials Warn of Asbestos Dangers Near Mine

Friday, November 7, 2008

Source: Vermont Public Radio

The State of Vermont is warning residents to stay clear of an abandoned asbestos mine in the Eden/Lowell area after a state-sponsored study showed a statistically significant increase in asbestosis and lung cancer among residents within 10 miles of the mine. State Health Commissioner Wendy Davis, MD, recently gave an interview on Vermont Public Radio where she discussed that the implications of the study and the guidance the State is providing residents.

The study examined health records and death certificates among people who lived, or lived, within 10 miles of the mine and they found that the odds of dying from asbestosis were 12 times higher among those who lived close to the mine than were those who lived far from it. Although the radio program didn’t mention the specific ratio, it also noted that that the study found incidences of lung cancer to be higher in this population as well.

The State is recommending people to stay away from the mine as they complete more testing in the area surrounding.

Labels: asbestos, LungCancer

posted by Joseph DiCastro at 10:25 AM
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Canada to Keep Asbestos off Trade Blacklist

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Source: The Guardian

A coalition made up of Canada and a number of developing countries has successfully lobbied to keep chrysotile asbestos from being added to the Rotterdam Convention’s list of hazardous substances. Chrysotile is the most commonly used form of asbestos and the majority of other nations had wanted it included on the dangerous substances list because of its causative association with mesothelioma and lung cancer. In successfully lobbying for its position, Canada has said it will continue to mine, and trade, the mineral.

The decision to keep asbestos off the list was met with disappointment by a number of parties, from national governments to consumer and medical advocacy groups. The carcinogenic aspects of asbestos exposure have been known for years and thousands of people die every year from diseases, such as pleural mesothelioma, associated with the mineral. The Canadian Medical Association Journal recently published a scathing editorial in opposition to the government’s position.

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma

posted by Joseph DiCastro at 4:05 PM
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Report On Vermiculite Asbestos Exposure

Source: UPI.com

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has released its anticipated report on asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from Libby, Montana. The Agency found that the vermiculite from Libby contaminated 28 exfoliation sites and may have exposed workers at these sites, their families and people living close to the plants to amphibole asbestos, which is the most carcinogenic family of asbestos fibers.

ATSDR reports that the asbestos was released from the vermiculite during exfoliation, which is a process where the vermiculite is heated and expands. Vermiculite is generally a safe and commonly used mineral, but because Libby’s ore was contaminated with asbestos, the dust from these fibers were released into the air during exfoliation. ATSDR recommends that workers from these plants and people living around them speak with a medical provider about their possible exposures. Asbestos is a highly dangerous mineral and is associated with the development of mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Labels: asbestos, LungCancer, mesothelioma

posted by Joseph DiCastro at 3:16 PM
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