mesothelioma blog

The federal Dept of Veterans Affairs put out a press release noting their leadership in providing hospice care for veterans: “Nearly 9,000 veterans were treated in designated hospice beds at VA facilities in 2007, and thousands of other veterans were referred to community hospices to receive care in their homes.” Care for veterans should be one of our nation’s highest priorities, and the veterans affairs department, through their network of veteran service officers, helps provide that care.

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery has an article about peptides in pleural effusions from mesothelioma patients. The level of soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) in the fluid appears to correlate well with mesothelioma presence. Given the difficulty in diagnosing mesothelioma, any effective markers are welcome.

OSHA put out a press release on their enforcement activities in 2007, boasting of over 39,300 inspections against a goal of 37,700. They report 88,846 violations in 2007. The 2006 injury numbers are in, and workplace fatality rates were the lowest since records have been kept, down to 3.9 deaths for every 100,000 employees.

Good news, but the fatality numbers apply to immediate or short-term deaths. Diseases caused by long-term occupational exposure (such as to asbestos) are not counted in this number.

Andrew Vickers of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has a disturbing essay in the New York Times today. Apparently researchers are relucatant to share their cancer study data. Because of concerns that their studies might be criticized, because it is proprietary business data, and out of concerns for patient privacy. Vickers is a statistician and has encountered personal rejection when asking for information, and he knows enough about the industry to say this is a common practice.

It’s unfortunate that such attitudes exist in the scientific community, especially in the Internet age when communication is easier than ever. For the good of millions of patients, I hope scientists do not horde their data, but instead share it.

Story from the BBC about the closing of Ordsall Hall, a 12th Century building near Manchester. Buildings that old typically have been through many additions, renovations, and rebuilds. Somewhere along the way asbestos was apparently put into the boiler room. Records were not always kept in the old days. Now the Salford City Council has closed the building until the asbestos can be removed. The council is trying to make Ordsall Hall, which is designated as a historic Grade 1 building, into a visitor attraction.

There is a report out of Australia today about new findings in control of tumors. Researchers showed a mouse immune system could contain a cancerous growth and prevent the cancer from spreading. The article hails this breakthrough as having the potential to lead to new therapies in the future. No details in the mainstream press article. Will look for the abstract for further details.

Let’s hope this contributes to advances in immunotherapy for mesothelioma.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme might add Alimta to the list of drugs eligible for coverage. Only half of Australians with mesothelioma have been able to get access because of state government subsidy schemes and coverage of the workplace compensation. There has been some controversy because Alimta was more readily available for lung cancer patients than for mesothelioma patients.

ChemRisk has put out a fascinating paper in which the authors attempt to quantify historical exposure levels of asbestos in the workplace. They estimated asbestos concentrations at distance from factories.

People living at asbestos cement factories had a relative risk of 10.5 and even at a distance of 10 km, the risk was 60% as high as it was at the source. The authors conclude that the asbestos pollution from industry significantly increases mesothelioma risk.

Interesting research into the basic of cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, killing more than 50 times as many people as mesothelioma does. Scientists have recently uncovered abnormalities in the genome related to lung cancer, including more than 50 regions that are gained or lost in lung tumors. They found a gene alteration in some lung cancers, and knowing about this alteration could lead to a new target for therapy.

This article from the MIT news office explains more.

New York University law student on chemotherapy. Another good one is The Pump Handle.