Category: Treatment News

Patients dealing with rare, life-threatening diseases may be able to get promising new drugs and treatments much faster, thanks to a bill introduced by U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC). The legislation targets the 7,000 known rare diseases, such as mesothelioma, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) and muscular dystrophy, that do not currently have effective treatments.   Mesothelioma …

In a recent peer review article in the Journal of Supportive Oncology, the authors agree oncologists should spend more time focusing on the symptoms associated with lung cancer and less time on the disease itself.  As with mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer caused by breathing asbestos fibers, lung cancer symptoms can be debilitating, leading …

Mesothelioma is a serious and rare cancer that occurs in individuals that have either inhaled or swallowed asbestos fibers.  The cancer is highly aggressive, and is also a very painful disease.  Pain associated with mesothelioma varies from patient to patient and depends on the type of mesothelioma.  The pain typically increases over time and can be …

In a press release earlier this month, a Japanese bio-pharmaceutical company announced it has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its drug CBP501.  The chemotherapy drug by CanBas Co., Ltd has been approved “for use in combination with cisplatin and pemetrexed for treatment of patients with mesothelioma.”  Malignant …

Researchers at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report promising results in a small clinical trial used to assess whether a variation of the modified cold virus may benefit patients with malignant mesothelioma.  In the study led by Steven M. Albelda, MD, William Maul Measey Professor of Medicine, and vice chief, Pulmonary, …

Recent significant breakthroughs by researchers seeking a new mesothelioma treatment have come in the field of genetics.  Many physicians and scientists believe that the answer to finding an effective treatment for mesothelioma lies within each patient’s genetic makeup.  Now, Life Technologies Corp. has launched a desktop tool that can sequence the entire human genome in …

Anne Tsao, M.D., associate professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and director of its Mesothelioma Program is one of the leading authorities of mesothelioma in the United States.  She has treated hundreds of patients with mesothelioma, but she had never been able to declare success over the disease until last …

Dr. David Sugarbaker, Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), is one of the leading authorities on treating mesothelioma.  He focuses on developing the most effective, cutting-edge treatment strategies that can significantly extend mesothelioma patients’ lives. Now, Sugarbaker has access to a one-of-a-kind surgical suite that combines all forms of advanced …

Pinnacle Biologics, an Illinois company that specializes in revitalizing healthcare therapies to fulfill their true potential and to maximize favorable patient outcomes, announced last week that they have obtained approval for an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for their product PHOTOFRIN® (porfimer sodium) as adjuvant therapy to surgery in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Malignant …

Currently, the only way to prevent mesothelioma is by avoiding exposure to asbestos.  For the millions of Americans that have already been exposed to the toxic mineral, however, the potential for developing mesothelioma is a lifelong danger.  But, if researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Georgia achieve success in their latest project, …