Mesothelioma Pages

Former Major League Baseball player Charlie Metro has just died after battling with rare cancer mesothelioma. Metro was 91 years old. Although asbestos is known to be the cause of mesothelioma, as well as lung cancers and asbestosis, not much is known about how or when Metro was exposed to the toxic chemical.

In an interview in 2007 Metro reminisced of working summers in the Western Pennsylvania coalmines along side his father, a full time miner. Metro survived a blast that killed seven other workers, to which he said, “And I said ‘To heck with it’ after that.” Perhaps it was these times in the coalmines that provided Metro with eventually fatal asbestos exposure.

The mining industry is well known for asbestos exposures. Workers are often exposed to raw asbestos in situations of limited air supply and ventilation, raising the chance for inhalation of asbestos fibers. Asbestos dust and fibers can also be trapped on clothing, shoes and in hair, and brought home to family members and loved ones.

Having given up on a career in mining, Metro began his baseball career in 1940. He played for the Detroit Tigers before moving into management. Metro worked as a manager, and scout for decades. Always connected with the baseball world, Metro continued to work as a consultant after his retirement.

Mesothelioma affects about three thousand Americans each year. It is grimly characterized by a short life expectancy following diagnosis. Proper diagnosis is difficult to reach for several reasons. Mesothelioma develops over decades, often taking twenty to fifty years to show symptoms. Many mesothelioma patients have no idea they were ever exposed to asbestos so they are unaware that they could possibly be developing mesothelioma. Also, mesothelioma symptoms mimic those of bronchitis and pneumonia, creating opportunities for false diagnoses and further postponing appropriate treatments.

There are two types of mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs, and peritoneal mesothelioma which affects lining of other abdominal cavities such as the heart. Pleural mesothelioma is the more common of the two. Both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma are characterized by a system of irregularly patterned malignant tumors.

Mesothelioma treatments are available. Today, health care providers are using a combination of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy to treat mesothelioma. However, there is no known mesothelioma cure. Many patients are choosing a regime of palliative care that focuses on better breathing, pain management and quality of life without fighting the cancer directly.

Italian researchers have set a new record for most in-depth study of mesothelioma. Using synchrotron soft x-ray imaging and florescence microscopy scientists were able to take a closer look at the cause, formation and development of mesothelioma tumors.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer affecting about three thousand Americans each year and an estimated twenty thousand worldwide. Mesothelioma rates are expected to rise as its main cause, toxic chemical asbestos, continues to be used worldwide. At the current rate of unprotected asbestos use, a peak in mesothelioma and related respiratory illnesses is inevitable. In spite if being considered an ‘orphan disease’ because it affects less than two hundred thousand people at a time, mesothelioma receives much attention from researchers and scientists who are working to find a cure for this aggressive cancer.

Asbestos is the known cause of mesothelioma. Once inhaled asbestos dust and fibers begin a mutative process in lung lining and lining in of other abdominal cavities. This begins growth of irregularly patterned tumors, which characterize malignant mesothelioma. Most commonly undetected for twenty to fifty years, mesothelioma has a long latency period. When symptoms do demonstrate they mimic those of pneumonia and bronchitis, making this disease very difficult to diagnose.

Mesothelioma patients may not know they were ever exposed to asbestos, giving them no cause for concern. Once proper diagnosis is made, life expectancy ranges between six months and five years. There are mesothelioma treatments available; surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are all used to fight mesothelioma. Palliative treatments are also available for patients who choose to focus on pain management and quality of life.

Italian researchers found that the iron content in asbestos fibers may be the body to react by trying to isolate the foreign matter. Tissues surrounding asbestos fibers build a ‘pod’ around the area called an ‘asbestos body.’ These bodies are characteristic of mesothelioma and similar cancers.

The researchers report having “revealed the location, distribution and elemental composition of asbestos bodies and associated nanometric structures.” Magnesium may be a part of the ‘asbestos body’ building process as affected areas tested high for the substance. Silicon was also found in high counts close to the fibers.

In an article in Particle and Fibre Toxicity journal, the researchers report, “The new results obtained by simultaneous structural and chemical analysis of tissue specimens have provided clear evidence that magnesium, in addition to iron, is also involved in the formation mechanisms of asbestos bodies.”

A study by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada has tested the effects of fish oil on cancer patients. Specifically, the fish oil was used to maintain healthy body weight during preparation, treatment and recovery from cancer treatments.

Cancer patients consistently struggle to keep up healthy body mass. Not only does the disease fight against patients’ natural support systems, but the strong chemotherapy drugs used against the cancer also tax the patients’ resources. Surgery and other procedures weaken the patient even further, minimizing the natural abilities to fight the disease and handle the treatments. Healing and recovery happens faster in healthy patients, and cancerous tissues respond better to chemotherapy in a healthy body.

Mesothelioma patients are one group that would greatly benefit from healthier body weight during treatment. Mesothelioma is a rare respiratory cancer that takes years to develop. By the time it has been diagnosed patients immune systems and regular functions have been greatly taxed. Loss of body mass furthers the weakness and can hinder potentially good responses to treatment.

Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos fibers which can be inhaled or ingested after becoming airborne. These fibers are found in countless materials and components used across the world in industries such as construction, fuel refining, shipbuilding and munitions manufacturing. Although asbestos is relatively safe when it is contained, if it becomes disturbed and dust and fibers escape, there is a great potential health threat.

The University of Alberta study based its approach on the fact that a healthy diet and overall good patient health was a heavy indicator of treatment response and disease control. Keeping up patients body weight could potentially help save lives.

The study included forty patients diagnosed with non small-cell lung cancer. Sixteen of these were given fish oil while twenty-four comprised the control group. A daily does of 2.2 grams of fish oil was given to those sixteen patients to aid in maintaining “weight and muscle mass during chemotherapy.”

Results showed that sixty-nine percent of patients receiving daily fish oil gained or maintained muscle mass, while only twenty-nine percent of those not receiving fish oil did the same.

Patient health is vital for all cancer patients before, during and after treatments. Mesothelioma patients are often diagnosed later in life as the disease is characterized by a latency period of twenty to fifty years. Mesothelioma treatments usually include several rounds of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy—a lot for a patient to endure. The fish oil study may be the beginning of new treatment preparation for the thousands of Americans fighting mesothelioma each year.

Sigma Life Sciences is a biotechnology company specializing in research products development and supply. From cell lines to patient models, Sigma provides custom and ready-to-use products for all lines of scientific testing and research. Hoping to “offer researchers cellular models of cancer that are expected to enhance development of drugs for personalized medicine,” Sigma Life Sciences is now providing a line of genetically modified cancer cells.

This addition to available products is great news for mesothelioma researchers as the new cell line will be invaluable in the continued search for a mesothelioma cure. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer affecting about three thousand Americans each year and some ninety thousand people globally. Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos fibers that can begin a cancerous development once inhaled or ingested. Although asbestos risks are known, the toxic material continues to be used in countless industries and building initiatives for its fire resistant qualities and durability.

Mesothelioma affects lining of abdominal cavities, typically that of the lungs. Irregularly patterned tumors grow for decades without demonstrating any signs or symptoms. This latency period is characteristic of mesothelioma and usually lasts for twenty to fifty years, making mesothelioma difficult to diagnose. Patient life expectancy ranges between six months and five years following proper diagnosis of the disease. Mesothelioma treatments are available, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Many of these treatments are used in a palliative approach, aiming to manage pain and enhance breathing. There is no known cure for mesothelioma.

Sigma uses its proprietary tool CompoZrZFN to aid in development of personalized treatments through “target validation, identification of mechanistic actions of drugs and investigation of disease development, progression and remission.” CompoZr allows for development of “knockout” models for treatment research. “Knockout” is a term referring to a genetic process in which a gene of a test specimen is decommissioned and removed or “knocked out.” It is then used for comparison to cells of normal or unaffected test specimens.

Sigma Life Sciences has received the silver star medal for “Top Ten Innovations of 2010,” given by The Scientist magazine in recognition of CompprZr’s development of knockout lab rats.

Edward Weinstein, director or SAGE Labs, Sigma Life Sciences’ genetic engineering facilities, says knockout technologies will “provide scientists with powerful new tools to study human diseases.” The new line of genetically modified cells will begin with models of colorectal and lung cancer.