Gene Test Predicts Mesothelioma Survival

According to the May 6th Journal of the National Cancer institute, a 4-gene expression ratio test accurately predicts survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

The study performed by researchers from the Brigham and Women's Hospital, involved 120 patients undergoing surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Multiple samples were gathered either during surgery or through pleural biopsy. Researchers evaluated the test on multiple tumor samples from each patient and used two different gene samples and two different biopsy techniques.

The results were adjusted for other clinical factors and coupled with other mesothelioma prognosis information and patients were categorized into two groups. Patients assigned by the test to the good outcome group had significantly better median overall survival, 31.9 months, compared to the poor outcome group, 6.9 months.

It is hoped that this test will help doctors better determine a prognosis for patients. Patients who have a shorter life-expectancy can be counseled away from surgeries that would not benefit them or their families and allow them time seek hospice or other supportive care. For patients with a higher expectancy, doctors could help them to arrange for more long term treatments and surgeries.

Additional information about mesothelioma research and ongoing studies may be found at Mesothelioma Help.net.

Bishop Loses Battle with Mesothelioma

The Bishop of Peterborough, Rt Revd Ian Cundy, died on May 7th, 2009 after a two-year battle with mesothelioma.

Bishop Cundy, 64, had recently announced his plans to take an early retirement in July after his chemotherapy treatments had failed to stop the spread of the cancer. No cure for mesothelioma currently exists, but it has been proven that some multimodal treatments that combine traditional cancer treatments, such as surgery along with chemotherapy or radiation, can help to reduce the cancer and slow the spread.

Bishop Cundy was well loved and received in the UK, having been appointed in 1996. He is survived by his wife Jo, three children, and a grandson.

Bishop Frank White will assume the duties of diocesan bishop until a new appointment is made. According to Bishop White,"Bishop Ian was greatly loved in the diocese and around the country for his gentle manner, his warm acceptance of people from all walks of life and all denominations of and traditions within the Christian Church, and for his wise and perceptive counsel."

Once again it has been desmonstrated that mesothelioma affects men, women, and children of every walk of life and that the dangers of asbestos exposure apply not only to the blue collar working man as once believed.

Please visit Mesothelioma Help.net for more information on mesothelioma and new treatment options that are becoming available to combat this deadly disease.

Britain's Prime Minister Vows to Tackle Asbestos Crisis

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has stated that he will make great efforts to alleviate Britain's asbestos problem, especially in the plagued school systems. PM Brown is no stranger to the devastating effects of asbestos exposure. In 2008, Brown lost his friend Scottish Member of Parliament John MacDougall to mesothelioma.

Advocates for asbestos removal have stated their praise of the PM's words and many believe that he will take his promise to heart because he has personally experienced the pain of mesothelioma.

It will be a great boon for the mesothelioma community if Brown continues to make pushes for asbestos removal. It could mean more funding for mesothelioma and cancer research in Britain as well as continued global awareness.

For more information on mesothelioma and asbestos exposure, please visit mesotheliomahelp.net.

New Mesothelioma Treatment Shows Promise

NeoPlas Innovation, a clinical cancer treatment and research firm located in Nashville, Tennessee, has announced that a combination of the cholesterol medicine lovastatin and a low-dose of interferon has shown favorable results in fighting mesothelioma.

The patient was a woman who was exposed to asbestos in childhood. When she was diagnosed with mesothelioma, it had already filled most of the chest space where her right lung had been. According to NeoPlast, two months after starting treatments, a CT scan showed that the cancer had stabilized and the largest of the tumors had regressed significantly in size.

It's still too early to draw full conclusions on the treatment because the testing is still in the early phases with only one patient so far.

NeoPlas is still accepting patients for the combination treatment.

For more breaking news on mesothelioma treatment, general information, and forum discussions, please visit Mesotheliomahelp.net.

sbestos Linked to Larynx and Ovarian Cancers

Exposure to asbestos -- long associated with cancers of the lungs -- has been shown to cause some cancers of the ovary and the larynx as well, Cancer Research UK reports.

An international team of World Health Organization scientists writing in the journal Lancet Oncology said that people who have been exposed to asbestos are 1.4 times more likely to develop cancer of the larynx than those who had never been exposed.

Dr. Alison Ross, Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer said, "We already know asbestos can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma and this adds two more cancer types to the list."

Senator Calls for Help to Clean Up Town of Libby

Montana Sen. Jon Testor asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to team up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to work together to clean up asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana and make the community safe again. More than 200 residents of Libby have died and thousands more are still suffering from asbestos diseases. Residents were poisoned by asbestos from a now-defunct vermiculite mine, and the entire community of Libby is now an EPA Superfund site.