Source: ScienceDirect.Com

CT (“Computerized Tomography”) is the most common test used to diagnose mesothelioma. CT can show pleural thickening, the extent of pleural effusions and if the tumors have invaded near-by structures. Problems with CT include underestimating the extent to which tumors have invaded the chest wall and the peritoneal area. It is also not effective in showing if the cancer has spread into the lymph nodes. Perfusion CT is a newer subset of CT and can image the microvascular structure of tumors, but its side effects limit its clinical use.

MRI (“Magnetic Resonance Imaging”) scans have been a real advancement in medicine’s diagnostic abilities and their use in mesothelioma diagnosis has been especially important. MRI provides superior results over CT in differentiating between malignant and benign disease, as well as in diagnosing the extent of tumor invasion of the chest wall and diaphragm. Perfusion MRI has shown promise for microvascular imaging and is useful for tracking the effect of chemotherapy.

PET (“Positron Emission Tomography”) is also useful to distinguish between malignant and benign tissue and is useful staging examination and prognosis. In combination with CT, PET is useful for determining tumor respectability, as well as detection of the extent of the disease and identifying distant tumor locations.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: PubMed.com

Serum markers are an attempt to diagnose mesothelioma malignancies by analysis of a blood or other fluid test. This is a non-invasive procedure and discovering the efficacy of these diagnostic materials will be an important progression in our ability to diagnose mesothelioma. A study was recently completed that looked at the use of three different markers and their efficacy of diagnosis. It was found that Cyfra 21.1 was able to discriminate between healthy and malignant cells and that the combination of soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP) and carcino-embrionic antigen (CEA) was very effective for distinguishing between mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: PubMed.com

Pericardial mesothelioma is an exceedingly rare cancer, with less than 150 cases in the literature fully describing its occurrence. It is a highly aggressive tumor and the anecdotal evidence suggests a survival time of less than six months from initial diagnosis. However, a recent case has shown that pericardial mesothelioma may be treated in a manner similar to the more common versions of mesothelioma, such as pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. A forty-four year-old man with primary pericardial mesothelioma was treated with pemetrexed and carboplatin, which is the standard chemotherapy regimen for the main forms of mesothelioma, and then radiotherapy afterwards. The man survived until 16 months after his initial diagnosis and the study suggests that new cytotoxic agents can improve the prognosis of this disease.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: PubMed.com

Alpha-tocopheryl succinate (alpha-TOS), an analogue of vitamin E, has previously been shown to inhibit peritoneal malignant mesothelioma in immuno-compromised mice via the induction of apoptosis in tumor cells. A recent study testing the effect of systemic alpha-TOS treatment could not replicate the results of earlier findings in terms of effectiveness and general tolerability. In the mesothelioma model used, alpha-TOS was seen not only as ineffective at inhibiting established tumor development at the published doses, but it resulted in severe side effects characterized by behavioral changes, intra-peritoneal abnormalities and the destruction of T cells. The study estimates that the toxicity of alpha-TOS had not been previously reported due to a lack of studies conducted in fully immuno-competent hosts. The abstract of the study warns that the translation of animal studies to clinical treatment with alpha-TOS requires careful consideration.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: PubMed.com


The most effective manner of delivering post-operative radiotherapy to patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) who received an extrapleural pleuropneumonectomy was the subject of a recent study at the Zurich University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. The study compared the efficacy of three-dimensional (3D) conformal RT (3D-CRT) with intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) with 6-MV photons, using a sample size of 17 patients. 8 were treated with 3D-CRT and nine were treated with IMRT. The study concluded that both modalities were effective as adjuvant radiotherapy for a patient who received an extrapleural pleuropneumonectomy.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: ScienceDirect.com

A recent study has uncovered a possible new way to suppress the growth of malignant mesothelioma cells. The study attempted to uncover the mechanisms of activation of receptor EphA2 by its ligand ephrinA1 in the development of malignant mesothelioma. Activation of receptor EphA2 by its ligand ephrinA1 was shown to trigger both the phosphorylation of EphA2 and the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, which significantly decreased MMC proliferation. These studies suggest that EphA2 activation by its ligand ephrinA1 transmits intracellular signals from cell membrane to nucleus via ERK1/2 signaling cascade and inhibits MM growth.

Labels: mesothelioma

Source: Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Asbestos exposure is a constant concern for workers in shipyards. There is evidence to suggest that these workers are much more likely to come down with an asbestos-related disease than other professions. A study looking at the health patterns of a group of 4702 workers of a Coast Guard shipyard was recently completed and the results did show a greater mortality figure that is most likely caused by asbestos. The study examined workers employed from January 1, 1950 through December 31, 1964 and followed them through December 31, 2001. The findings showed an excess mortality rate for a variety of causes, most notably respiratory cancers, lung cancer, mesothelioma and emphysema. While length of employment wasn’t a factor for most of the other problems, mesothelioma incidence showed a definite increase if the person had worked at the shipyard for longer than 10 years. The study concluded that the greater morality rate was most likely due to asbestos exposure.

Labels: asbestos, LungCancer, mesothelioma

Source: Rochdale Online

Rochdale Online profiles the struggle of Leigh Carlisle in her battle with peritoneal mesothelioma. At 27, Ms. Carlisle is believed to be Britain’s youngest victim of mesothelioma. That Ms. Carlisle was diagnosed with the disease at such a young age is surprising, as the disease most commonly takes decades to develop and generally affects people in their 50s and beyond. How and why she developed the disease when she was 26 is still a mystery, as is the precise nature of her exposure. One possibility is that she was exposed to asbestos as a young girl when she would short-cut through a factory yard where asbestos was cut. Another is that she was exposed to the mineral from coming into contact with the fibers that were on the work clothes of a relative who worked in an asbestos plant. Even if one of these possibilities is true for her exposure, doctors are still surprised she developed the disease as young as she had. Many see it as further evidence of the tremendously hazardous nature of asbestos fibers.

Ms. Carlisle is part of a mesothelioma clinical trial where an experimental drug is being used to reduce a tumor’s resiliency so chemotherapy will be more effective. The early results shows Ms. Carlisle is responding very well to the treatment. According to her doctors, “her lungs and stomach are clear of cancer cells, her lymph nodes have returned to near-normal and the tumors in her abdomen have broken down significantly.” With Mr. Carlisle as a great example of the growing effectiveness of new medications for the treatment of mesothelioma, doctors are hopeful that future victims may be more successfully treated than previous victims have been.

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma

Source: NJ.Com

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, has released a report slamming the EPA’s cleanup of asbestos-contaminated sites, such as one in Hamilton, New Jersey. GAO states that the EPA underestimated the public health risks of the sites and of the actual cleanup of the sites by using a scientifically inaccurate formula that minimized the severity of the problem. GAO also criticized the EPA for failing to properly notify residents and municipal agents of the towns where the cleanup was taking place.

The cleanup of the sites is part of the fallout from the 1999 revelation that W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana was contaminated with asbestos. Grace shipped the materials extracted from this mine throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. When the story broke, the EPA commenced an investigation and a cleanup of the 271 different sites where the materials was shipped to. To determine the levels of contamination at the site, the EPA used a standard of "1 percent asbestos by weight" to determine if a cleanup is necessary. However, GAO reports, this was not the appropriate standard to use for this kind of cleanup. By using an erroneous formula, GAO alleges that the EPA has failed in its mission to protect the public health. An EPA scientist with knowledge of the GAO report, said “The standard of 1 percent asbestos by weight used in many cases is one used to address the removal of solid commercial insulation such as an old furnace wrapped in asbestos. It is definitely not applicable to (airborne) asbestos and is definitely an inappropriate standard to apply to vermiculite.”

The GAO report comes after the EPA has completed its analysis of 266 of 271 of the sites and has finished cleanup of 19 of the sites. The EPA has not officially responded to the GAO report yet, so it is unclear what the fallout of the report will be.

Labels: asbestos

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canada, like the United States, is one of the few industrialized nations that hasn’t yet banned asbestos and many health experts are predicting that asbestos-related health issues for Canadian workers will increase over time. Jim Brophy, director of the Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) and an expert on the risks of asbestos exposure, has noted an increase in the number of calls over the last three years that OHCOW gets regarding asbestos-related health problems. He expects the deaths from asbestos exposure to peak in the next decade.

Canada is the one of the world’s leading exporters of asbestos and is under tremendous pressure from the asbestos industry to continue the mining and resale of the fibrous material. While industry members state that the type of asbestos mined in Canada, chrysotile, is safer than other forms and that modern advancements in its extraction and use have meant asbestos can be used safely, many health public experts disagree. In particular, Barry Castleman, an American occupational health scientist and one of the most cited sources regarding the risks of asbestos exposure, has said that any claim of asbestos being safe to use is a “delusion.”

The most feared disease of asbestos exposure is mesothelioma, which most often manifests as a cancer in the lining that surrounds the lungs. Lung cancer, which is a cancer distinct from mesothelioma, and asbestosis are also diseases common to those who have been exposed to asbestos.

Labels: asbestos, mesothelioma

Belluck & Fox strongly supports the U.S. Senate’s unanimous passage of the “Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007”. For decades, corporations have sold asbestos without proper warnings. To this day, companies are still selling asbestos products, including roof cement available at many hardware stores in the United States. Because big business was unwilling to stop using asbestos, the United States Government stepped in and voted to ban asbestos in the United States. A companion bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives and we hope the House moves swiftly to pass its version of the bill.

Belluck & Fox applauds Senator Patty Murray for her determined efforts to ban asbestos. Sen. Murray first introduced this legislation six years ago and she has tirelessly pursued its passage ever since. We can only hope that once asbestos has been banned, the scourge of asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, will finally start to decline.

Labels: Press Releases

Belluck & Fox is proud to announce that partners Joseph W. Belluck and Jordan Fox have been named to the New York Super Lawyers list. The designation of Super Lawyer for Mr. Belluck and Mr. Fox confirms their status among New York’s premier asbestos and mesothelioma attorneys, as only five percent of New York Metro attorneys are named to the Super Lawyer list. The Super Lawyer selection process is a rigorous and objective assessment of an attorney’s abilities that includes peer nominations, independent research and blue ribbon panel review.

Joseph W. Belluck has prosecuted numerous cases involving injuries from asbestos, defective medical products, tobacco and lead paint, including a recent asbestos case that settled for over $12 million. He has lectured frequently on product liability, tort law, and tobacco control policy and is a highly qualified consumer law and tort litigation attorney.

Jordan Fox is one of the nation’s most experienced product liability litigators. Over the past seventeen years, Mr. Fox has represented and counseled victims of asbestos exposure, crime and other environmental injuries. He has prosecuted thousands of asbestos cases and has settled hundreds of millions of dollars in claims. On two occasions, his verdicts were featured as The National Law Journal’s Largest Verdicts of the Year.

Labels: Press Releases