Source: New York Times.Com

The New York Times has an article on the uneven nature of care given to cancer patients across the country. The article details the struggles of Karen Pasqualetto to find the best treatment for the cancer she was diagnosed with at 35. Mrs. Pasqualetto had just given birth to a daughter when her cancer was discovered. The diagnosis was colon cancer, metastatic to the liver. The advanced nature of the disease was surprising for one as young as 35, as colon cancer tends to affect those who are 50 and above. After her diagnosis, Mrs. Pasqualetto entered a maze of uncertain therapies and conflicting treatment regimens. She would discuss her case with one doctor who would recommend a certain treatment regimen and then she would speak with a different doctor who advised a different course. She was given six months to live by one doctor while another told her he would do everything he could for her to live much longer.

Mrs. Pasqualetto's experience is, sadly, the norm for many cancer patients across the United States. While the U.S. certainly possesses the greatest treatment options in the world, many people are not actually given these treatments. Besides the well-publicized conflicts that many patients have with insurance companies, a lesser-known — but equally problematic — issue is that even where treatment guidelines exist, many patients do not receive the care that is recommended. One set of guidelines may recommend adjuvant chemotherapy and a course of surgery, while a patient may only receive chemotherapy or only receive the surgery.

Another problem a patient may run into is not discussing his or her options with another set of doctors. Too often patients begin a treatment regimen with a family physician. While comfort with one's doctor is an important part of any treatment program, one's family doctor will not have the experience with the disease that a specialist would have, so the family doctor may not be aware of the latest research and other cutting-edge treatments.

Cancer treatment is a maze that one is thrown into without a roadmap to follow. Karen Pasqualetto is alive today because of her dedication and her drive to help find the best treatment for her condition. She sought out second and third opinions and has done everything she can to help herself with her treatments. Even though she wasn't given a map, she's made the best possible journey she could have made and her dedication is itself a roadmap of sorts for others in similar shoes.

Labels: cancer

Source: University of Virginia

Researchers from the University of Virginia (UVA) have developed an algorithm that is designed to predict the best possible treatments for a particular tumor-type for individual patients. Dan Theodorescu, M.D., Ph.D., a UVA oncologist and cancer biologist, and Jae Lee, Ph.D., a computational biologist and bioinformatics statistician, have devised an algorithm that compares information on a tumor's molecular characteristics with information on which chemotherapy agents are most effective in treating those characteristics. The researchers found that their "coexpression extrapolation (COXEN) system" can accurately predict chemosensitivity for certain cancers. The researchers used 60 human cancer cell lines from the National Cancer Institute (NCI-60) to develop the algorithm.

Dr. Theodorescu said, "Even though this NCI cell set wasn't an exhaustive encyclopedia of cancer cells, we found we could use the available data to draw conclusions about other cell types we were exploring. The algorithm is a Rosetta stone for translating from the NCI-studied drugs to any other cell line or human tumor....We believe we have found an effective way to personalize cancer therapy."

Dr. Lee is developing a web-based COXEN system (http://www.coxen.org) so researchers and treating physicians can leverage his and Dr.Theodorescu's research in their own work.

Labels: cancer

Source: GlobeandMail.Com

The Canadian Cancer Society has announced its endorsement of a ban on the export of asbestos and is petitioning the Canadian government to stop blocking international efforts to halt asbestos use. While Canadian industry doesn't use asbestos in many products, it is still an export product for the country - most of which goes to developing nations in the East. Last year, along countries such as Iran and Russia, Canada helped blocked asbestos from becoming listed in the UN's "most dangerous substances" index. The Canadian government's official position has been that asbestos, used properly, does not have to be dangerous to work with. The Cancer Society rejects the government's official position.

Labels: asbestos

Source: CancerPage.Com

Researchers have discovered that high concentrations of soluble mesothelin in both pleural and peritoneal effusions strongly correlate with the presence of mesothelioma. Dr. Jenette Creaney, who previously discovered that high levels of soluble mesothelin was present in the blood of people with mesothelioma, has provided another avenue of detection for people with this terrible disease. Effusions are a common symptom in a variety of disorders, so being able to test the makeup of the effusion to return a diagnosis of mesothelioma is a real innovation. The hope is that this research can lead to an earlier diagnosis so people can begin treatment earlier.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: Molecular Cancer Therapeutics

This abstract describes the development of a potentially new treatment modality for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Tyrosine kinase c-Src has been shown to be have significant effects on the growth of cancer cells, so researchers looked at what effect the inhibition of c-Src would have on these cells and the initial results have been promising. To the extent that the researchers were able to inhibit c-Src, they were able to arrest the cell growth cycle and trigger apoptosis in the cancer cells. They also found that where c-Src was activated and highly expressed, the cancer cells were not only active and growing, but were likely to migrate and metastasize to distant locations. Thus, the researches have concluded that inhibition of c-Src expression could be an important treatment strategy for mesothelioma.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: BBC News

The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has reversed course and approved Altima (Pemetrexed) for use in patients with advanced mesothelioma. Citing the expense of the drug, the Institute had previously stated that Altima was only to be used in ongoing or in new clinical trials. However, after an intense lobbying campaign from doctors and mesothelioma victims, the Institue has reversed course and has approved Altima for regular use in England and in Wales. Its use had already been approved in Scotland.

Altima has been used in the United States since the first studies showed a positive benefit to its use. Mesothelioma still has no cure, but patients treated with Altima live months longer than those who have not been administered Altima.

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Sen. Patty Murray has announced that her bill to ban asbestos, known as the "Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007", is progressing through Congress and will have a reading before the Environment and Public Works Committee later this month. This is the first time the bill has reached the markup stage.

Sen. Murray's bill calls for banning the use and importation of asbestos and asbestos-containing products over the next three years. It also allocates $50 million to research treatments to asbestos-related disease and to educate the public on the dangers of asbestos.

Labels: asbestos

Source: Seatle Post-Intelligencer

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer profiles Judy Clauson, a forty-four year-old mother of two who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Ms. Clauson is part of the disturbing trend of the next generation of mesothelioma victims: younger than previous victims and a woman, with no direct exposure to asbestos. Her exposure was from the clothes of her ex-husband, a metal worker, whose work attire was often covered in large amounts of the carcinogenic fibers. This type of exposure, known as para-occupational exposure, is a strong sign of just how toxic asbestos fibers can be to the body.

Ms. Clauson is a strong supporter of Sen. Patty Murray's "Ban Asbestos in American Act of 2007," which seeks to ban the use and the importation of asbestos and asbestos-containing products within the next three years. A previous effort to ban asbestos, attempted in 1989 when the EPA instituted its own ban, was overturned by a federal court after intense lobbying from asbestos industry players. A few years after the federal court's decision, Sen. Murray first introduced legislation banning asbestos. However, that bill was never given a real opportunity to become law. In May of this year, Sen. Murray once again began pushing for passage of legislation banning asbestos and with the Democratic majority in Congress she feels her chances have never been better.

Ms. Clauson hopes that the legislation will pass. She knows the bill will not be able to help her, but she wants to make sure that no one else is ever diagnosed with asbestos-related disease.

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma