The University of Hawai’i Cancer Center has received $3.58 million from an anonymous donor to aid its important mesothelioma research work under its director, Dr. Michele Carbone, and her colleagues.
“Mesothelioma is a serious public health problem,” said Dr. Virginia Hinshaw, Chancellor of UH Mānoa. “We’re proud that Dr. Carbone’s team is leading the world in this area of discovery. This gift validates their efforts and will help them remain at the forefront of thoracic oncology research.”
The $3.58 million gift is the second largest one ever given to the UH Cancer Center. Among the work that has recently been completed by Dr. Carbone and researchers at the center were recently released findings relating to the presence of erionite – a material that causes mesothelioma – in rock materials that are used to pave roads in North Dakota.
The center has also conducted studies in Capadoccia, Turkey – a region where nearly 50 percent of the residents die of mesothelioma – and there are currently plans for Dr. Carbone and collaborators to conduct a clinical trial co-sponsored by the Early Detection Research Network of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Turkish Ministry of Health. The trial will seek to validate serum biomarkers that were discovered during previous research that may help improve early detection of mesothelioma.
For those receiving mesothelioma treatment who have previously worked in a profession where you were regularly exposed to high amounts of asbestos, there may be reason to speak with a Hawaii mesothelioma attorney regarding a possible lawsuit. Contact us for a free consultation to see if a Hawaii mesothelioma law firm can help to get you a monetary asbestos settlement from a former employer who may be at fault for an asbestos-related illness.
They are typically thought of as a cause of illness, but viruses may also be an important key to fighting the asbestos-linked cancer, mesothelioma. Medical researchers in Japan are using viruses to deliver information directly into mesothelioma cells in mice that can help the cells respond better to cancer-fighting medication.
The researchers first tested their approach to gene therapy in test tubes, delivering genetic information to mesothelioma cells using modified viruses called retroviruses. In the past, scientists primarily used retroviruses that were unable to replicate themselves, to ensure that the replication process did not get out of control. But for their recent experiments, the Japanese team used replicable viruses – called replication-competent (RCR) viruses – instead.
While it is considered a riskier approach, using replication-competent viruses is also thought to be more effective because they can help get the key genes into more cells. This was the case in the Japanese study. The team reports that the marker gene “successfully infected and efficiently replicated” in human malignant mesothelioma cell lines in vitro without affecting non-malignant mesothelial cells.
Next, the researchers tried the same experiment in live subjects. When the replication-competent retrovirus was injected into the tumors of mesothelioma-infected mice, it showed “robust spread” and “efficient transmission” of the prodrug activator gene throughout entire tumor masses. The infected tumors were then treated with an anti-fungal drug called 5-fluorocytosine, which interferes with the building of certain essential proteins.
In a recent report of their findings in the journal Cancer Gene Therapy, the researchers say the process resulted in “significant inhibition” of tumor growth and “significantly prolonged survival” in mice with peritoneal mesothelioma. They write, “These data indicate the potential utility of RCR vector-mediated prodrug activator therapy in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma.”
Gene therapy is a promising new area of research for mesothelioma, a rare but incurable disease that is caused by exposure to the mineral asbestos. Its fast growth, drug resistance, and irregular tumor shape tend to make mesothelioma difficult to treat with conventional therapies.
Sources:
Kawasaki, Y et al, “Replication-competent retrovius vector-mediated prodrug activator gene therapy in experimental models of human malignant mesothelioma”, June 10, 2011, Cancer Gene Therapy, Epub ahead of print. Hiraoka, K, “Therapeutic efficacy of replicaion-competent retrovirus vctor-mediated suicide gene therapy in a multifocal colorectal cancer metastasis model”, June 1, 2007, Cancer Research, pp. 5345-53.
Catherine Cook wasn’t there two months ago to see the loveliest wedding ever hosted at the Southern Oaks Plantation in New Orleans.
She wasn’t there to see her oldest daughter glowing, to see her walk down the aisle in that beautiful dress, to hear the heart-felt wedding vows. She wasn’t there to help Rebecca prepare for the big day like mothers do.
No, she missed all that. Catherine Cook wasn’t there for what would have been the happiest day in both of their lives.
Yet she was very much there – in spirit.
Catherine died in 2010 at age 56, poisoned by deadly asbestos fibers, becoming yet another innocent victim of mesothelioma, the cancer that shouldn’t be.
Rebecca, though, made sure her mother’s memory was present on her wedding day.
Every member of the wedding party – even the cute little ring bearer – and every guest in attendance was wearing a Mesothelioma Awareness wristband. There were 250 people in attendance. And 250 wristbands.
“My mother was like my best friend. We used to double date sometimes, her and my stepfather, me and my fiancé. I know she would have loved the wedding,” Rebecca said recently from her home in nearby Marrero, Louisiana. “We wanted everyone to be aware of what this terrible disease does, and how senseless it is.”
Raising Awareness for Mesothelioma
Rebecca has made it her goal to raise awareness and understanding of mesothelioma, a disease she knew nothing about before Catherine was diagnosed. As her mother battled mesothelioma, Rebecca scrambled for answers she never could find.
“It still amazes me how little people know about mesothelioma. When people ask me about my wristband, I’m happy to explain. Some of my friends still wear their bands,” she said. “Even my mom, when she knew she was dying, she’d say, `I wish I had gotten breast cancer instead. At least then, people would understand what I have.’ ”
Catherine was the picture of health not long before she was first diagnosed. She was active. She worked out regularly. She was on vacation, hiking with her husband on the trails of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee when she suddenly was stopped by a shortness of breath. She was exhausted and puzzled.
After being misdiagnosed at least twice, she was told she had mesothelioma in March of 2009. It was attacking her lungs, and it had already spread.
The family didn’t wait, taking her to the country’s best doctors and hospitals looking for help and for hope, traveling first to Texas, then to Boston, but to no avail. Catherine died in less than a year.
“It’s such a terrible thing to watch someone go through this. I saw what my mom went through, and it was like watching someone drown, like she was slowly suffocating,” Rebecca said. “It just seemed like compared to most diseases, the doctors didn’t have any real answers.”
Second-hand Asbestos Exposure
Every year U.S. doctors diagnose 2,000 to 3,000 people with mesothelioma. Few doctors specialize in treating it. Finding one of them is imperative, as is catching the disease in an early stage.
Mesothelioma is almost always caused by an exposure to asbestos, a natural mineral that is used in a myriad of products. The havoc it causes within the body can sit dormant for 30 to 50 years.
Catherine Cook’s exposure to asbestos likely came decades ago and from a place she rarely went – a factory that produced insulation materials not far from where she lived. She never worked there, but her father once did and her first husband did, too. She would wash her husband’s clothes every day, unknowingly inhaling the deadly fibers.
“At first when my mom was sick, people would say, ‘I didn’t’ know your mother smoked.’ But she didn’t smoke. She never smoked. She never drank. She lived a healthy life. She didn’t bring this upon herself,” Rebecca said. “It’s really scary to think they still are producing products with asbestos when they knew long ago, it was killing people.”
Daily Reminders of Mesothelioma
Rebecca now drives to work every day in New Orleans to an older office building that likely has asbestos in its walls, floors and ceiling. She passes a least one billboard that mentions mesothelioma as a killer. There are other families in the area that have been rocked by the same diagnosis. She doesn’t need the reminder. She still feels a need to help others cope.
“In a perfect world, I’d like to become this amazing scientist and find a cure for mesothelioma, or at least find a way to test people early, to stop it from reaching the stage where there is nothing you can do,” Rebecca said. “What I’d like someday is to have kids of my own and, start a non-profit organization to raise money for research to find a cure.”
Before her wedding, Rebecca and her husband-to-be asked guests that instead of gifts for the new couple, to find a charity that helps fund mesothelioma research. What they found, though, were very few that used the money exclusively for this particular cancer, which is considered rare by comparison to others.
“I’d spend my whole life raising money for this cause if it could spare one family from having to go through what my mother went through,” Rebecca said. “She was the best mother anyone could ask for, but near the end, she couldn’t walk five feet without needing oxygen. I just feel the need to do something about this disease. She would want me to help find a cure.”
Asbestos causes cancer. That was again the official word from a congressionally mandated study of cancer-causing substances released this month, New York mesothelioma attorney Joseph W. Belluck said today.
The 12th edition of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Report on Carcinogens found “asbestos and all commercial forms of asbestos are known to be human carcinogens based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in humans.”
“Asbestos has been listed as cancer-causing in every Report on Carcinogens since the first report was released in 1980,” said Belluck, the New York asbestos lawsuits attorney. “Although it’s been clear for more than 30 years that asbestos causes mesothelioma and other cancers, many victims are just now finding out that they have asbestos-related cancer because the disease can hide for decades.”
The 12th Report on Carcinogens said that studies have found that asbestos causes both pleural (lung) and peritoneal (abdomen) mesothelioma, as well as cancer in the respiratory tract and other tissues. Exposure to asbestos can also increase the risk of lung cancer, studies show.
“These findings have been repeatedly peer-reviewed by medical scientists since the first Report on Carcinogens was issued three decades ago, and they have consistently reaffirmed that asbestos causes cancer,” said Belluck, a partner in the New York asbestos exposure law firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP.
Some of the people most susceptible to asbestos exposure include those who work or worked in construction, shipyards, building demolition and automotive brake repair. Second-hand exposure is also a problem for the families of workers who could bring asbestos fibers home on their clothes and bodies. Veterans are another category of concern because the U.S. military used asbestos heavily from the 1940s until the 1970s.
Symptoms of mesothelioma — also called “asbestos cancer” — include:
A persistent cough, which could be dry or could include mucous or blood
Shortness of breath
Problems swallowing
Fatigue
Weight loss
Profuse sweating
Painful breathing or pain the chest or ribs.
Belluck urged people to seek medical treatment promptly if they believe they have signs of mesothelioma. He also stressed that symptoms usually do not appear for 10 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos.
“It’s also important for victims of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma to know that they have legal rights and can pursue an asbestos exposure lawsuit against the company or agency that exposed them to this toxic substance,” Belluck said.
He advised victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases to seek out a qualified asbestos exposure lawyer who has experience handling asbestos claims.
About Belluck & Fox, LLP
Belluck & Fox, LLP is a nationally recognized law firm that represents individuals with asbestos and mesothelioma claims as well as victims of crime, medical malpractice, motorcycle crashes, exposure to lead paint and other serious injuries. The firm provides personalized and professional representation and has won nearly $350 million in compensation for clients and their families.
Partner Joseph W. Belluck is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in New York Magazine's Best Lawyers in the New York Area and in Super Lawyers. Belluck has won numerous cases involving injuries from asbestos defective medical products tobacco and lead paint, including a recent asbestos case that settled for more than $12 million.
Partner Jordan Fox is a well-known asbestos and mesothelioma attorney who has been named to the Best Lawyers in America, New York Magazine's Best Lawyers in the New York Area and to Super Lawyers. On two separate occasions his verdicts were featured as the National Law Journal' s Largest Verdict of the Year.
In September, Belluck & Fox, LLP won a coveted spot on a list of America's best law firms, which was published jointly by U.S News World Report and Best Lawyers magazine. The listing showcased 8,782 different law firms ranked in one or more of 81 major practice areas.
At the Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, held from June 4– 8 in Chicago, Illinois, Pfizer prevented its primary results from a clinical trial of their new, oral cancer drug crizotinib. Used as treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), crizotinib is doubling the survival rate of other drugs. The treatment only targets tumors with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) genetic marker, which makes up only 3% to 5% of NSCLC cases. However, there may be a chance that the ALK marker could be found in pleural mesothelioma tumors.
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that affects the lining of the body’s major organs and cavities, with the most common type, pleural, affecting specifically the lungs. It is caused almost exclusively by prolonged asbestos exposure and there is no known cure. The difference between lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma is that lung cancer consists of individual tumors with clear boundaries, while mesothelioma is a diffuse malignancy that blurs the boundaries between malignant and healthy tissue.
The recently revealed crizotinib results report that 74% of patients with advanced NSCLC treated with the drug were still alive after one year and 54% after two years. Typically, less than 20% of NSCLC patients survive past two years. The numbers decrease with mesothelioma, as the average life expectancy is between six and 18 months with treatment.
The fact that crizotinib is an ALK-inhibitor and showing successful results is contributing to the belief that focusing on personalized treatment targeted to a patient’s characteristics optimizes the potential for effective treatment and survival.
A new Mesothelioma website has been launched to help mesothelioma patients know if they can file a mesothelioma lawsuit. By visiting this website, victims will be able to learn more about their legal rights and get their mesothelioma case reviewed by legal experts.
People who have been diagnosed with Mesothelioma can find legal help through a Mesothelioma lawyer.Mesothelioma is a type of cancer commonly provoked by exposure to asbestos. As this disease is quite rare, it’s not that easy to find useful information about it. What patients should know is that the doctors consider Mesothelioma as being one of the most life threatening and painful cancer types.
As the number of patients increases every year, Jay Fleischman, the creator of Mesothelioma Lawyer News, http://mesotheliomalawyernews.com, decided to help people who suffer from this terrible condition to receive the compensation they deserve. “This compensation can actually help people to treat themselves. The treatments are quite expensive for this type of cancer and the right compensation can actually help them to cover for all the medical expenses and support their family”, says the website’s owner.
The first thing you will notice about this website is that it provides the possibility of finding out if one is entitled to receive any compensation. By simply filling out an online form, patients can find out if they are eligible for compensation. Once the form is submitted, the patient’s case is evaluated within 24 hours by legal experts. If the patient meets the eligibility criteria, a Mesothelioma lawyer will contact him to stabilize the details of the lawsuit. This way, victims are able to prepare themselves to file a Mesothelioma lawsuit with the help of a knowledgeable lawyer. A mesothelioma lawyer can provide precise information about the limitations over the condition. As well, he or she knows how to use exposure to toxic asbestos to obtain Mesothelioma compensation.
MesotheliomaLawyerNews.com proudly offers mesothelioma patients the opportunity to get their case evaluated by knowledgeable Mesothelioma lawyers.Finding a good lawyer is really important for this kind of cases since you can be sure that the ones responsible for the exposure to toxic asbestos will do all they can to give the smallest compensation or any at all. Moreover, victims should also keep in mind that if they want to get compensated, then they need to file as soon as possible because of the statutes of limitations.
Hiring a Mesothelioma lawyer is maybe the best thing victims can do. However, before hoping for the best, they need to make sure that they are eligible for compensation. They can use MesotheliomaLawyerNews.com to find out about this. It is true that no amount can compensate one’s health. However, compensation might help victims cover for all the medical expenses, secure the future of their family, and highlight the devastating effects of asbestos poisoning.
Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer in the lining of the lung and abdomen.
asbestos
Asbestos was often used at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
KAKAAKO (HawaiiNewsNow) - Some of the world's leading research on mesothelioma cancer is happening right here at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. The center recently received the second largest donation ever - specifically dedicated to finding ways to prevent and treat the disease.
UH researchers have made a series of scientific breakthroughs in mesothelioma, and now, they're getting a bigger shot in the arm - a gift of three and a half million dollars from an anonymous, mainland donor. The center is becoming one of the leading facilities for mesothelioma studies.
"Hawaii is in the center of the world because it's the bridge between Asia and the United States, so it's the perfect place if you want to run a big research team that involves research from different parts of the world," says Dr. Michele Carbone, the cancer center's director.
Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer in the lining of the lung and abdomen. Most of the time, it's caused by asbestos - a mineral fiber - that we inhale. Dr. Carbone says Hawaii has some of the higher rates of asbestos in the country, in large part because of materials once used at the Pearl Harbor shipyard. The disease develops after prolonged exposure and inhalation, but it's a longshot.
"Among people who are very heavily exposed, like asbestos miners, 4.6% of those who work in an asbestos mine for many years will develop mesothelioma," explains Carbone.
Because it takes decades to develop, doctors usually discover the disease in older patients between ages 60 and 80. The median survival time after diagnosis is 12 months.
Some in Hawaii who've developed the disease have sued. We've all seen those TV commercials saying, "If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to financial compensation. It's become a big moneymaker, according to Carbone. "Billions of dollars exchange hands every year around mesothelioma litigation."
Researchers hope continued discoveries - and generous donors - can help prevent and treat the disease before the cases ever have to head to court.
Copyright 2011 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Attorneys for Merlin Olsen's widow dropped NBC as a defendant in a lawsuit stemming from the former Los Angeles Ram great's death of asbestos-related cancer, court papers show.
A year-long investigation revealed that the network, which employed Olsen, was not responsible for exposing him to asbestos, said Denyse Clancy, Susan Olsen's attorney.
The Hall of Fame football legend, sports commentator and actor was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. He sued NBC and numerous other defendants in Los Angeles Superior Court in December 2009, and his wife became the lead plaintiff after his death in March 2010 at age 69.
Olsen's cancer was caused from a significant cumulative lifetime exposure to many asbestos products, including heavy equipment parts, construction materials used on Hollywood television sets and numerous other consumer and construction products, his widow's lawyers allege.
"`Merlin's instructions were simple: make a difference for other asbestos victims with this lawsuit," said another of Susan Olsen's lawyers, John Langdoc.
"Unlike our findings regarding NBC, we've uncovered that a number of companies -- many of which are household names -- were directly responsible for exposing Merlin and others to asbestos; and even worse, it is becoming clear that many of the companies knew some people would get cancer, and just did nothing to stop exposing people by putting asbestos in their consumer products," he said.
Olsen was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl an unprecedented 14 times and was voted into both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
The Mesothelioma Victims Center says, “Having gone through mesothelioma with a close family member, who was a US Navy Veteran, we understand how devastating a mesothelioma diagnosis can be; we were devastated, too. We had to start from scratch, not knowing anything about mesothelioma. As we have built our mesothelioma victims advocacy initiative over the years, we have dramatically expanded the number of free services we offer a victim or a family dealing with a mesothelioma diagnosis. If you call us, we will provide free services or advice no one else does. No one ever has to start from scratch again, when it comes to mesothelioma.” The group says, “We think our most unique service right now is a mesothelioma cancer treatment options report. This report starts with local mesothelioma treatment options, starting with the best local doctors, hospitals in the specific area of a mesothelioma victim, and then it expands to include the best instate mesothelioma treatment options, regional mesothelioma treatment options, and then nationally. Each report includes all of the doctors’ names, their specific contacts, or any additional information we think the family needs to know. No other group in the nation has ever offered anything close to this. In addition we also will provide an individual diagnosed with mesothelioma the names of the most skilled, and passionate mesothelioma lawyers in the nation, along with their specific contacts. No other group does this either.” Individuals, US Navy Veterans, or family members dealing with a mesothelioma diagnosis can always call the Mesothelioma Victims Center anytime at 866-714-6466. http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com
Aside from US Navy Veterans, other high risk groups for mesothelioma cancer include shipyard, power plant, or oil refinery workers, plumbers, electricians, county, or city municipal water district workers, miners, demolition construction contractors, railroad workers, or auto brake technicians. The Mesothelioma Victims Center says, “We are becoming increasingly worried about retired electricians, plumbers and especially city or county water works employees, and mesothelioma. If these individuals were working in the 1950′s, 1960′s, or 1970′s, they were probably exposed to enormous levels of asbestos on their job sites. City or county water works employees could have been exposed to asbestos pipes up until the early 1990′s.” They say, “One thing we really want families to understand is mesothelioma cancer does not typically show up until the Navy Veteran or US citizen is in their 60′s, and more often than not their 70′s, or 80′s. Frequently mesothelioma is diagnosed three, four, or even five decades after the exposure to asbestos.” http://MesotheliomaVictimsCenter.Com
In the ongoing worldwide quest for an easier and more accurate way to diagnose malignant mesothelioma, one of the nation’s top mesothelioma research teams claims to have found a ‘promising’ new method.
The blood test, developed by SomaLogic, Inc. and tested at New York’s Lagone Medical Center, detects the presence and quantity of 19 different proteins (biomarkers) that can be secreted by tumor cells in the early stages of mesothelioma.
In National Cancer Institute-funded studies on the new test, researchers used 90 blood samples from patients who had been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and 80 samples from people who had been exposed to asbestos but did not have a mesothelioma diagnosis. The SomaLogic test accurately detected 15 out of 19 cases of stage one or two malignant pleural mesothelioma among the samples. The test was found to pick up the disease with 80 percent accuracy and produced no false positive results.
Lead researcher Harvey Pass, director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Lagone, says the test’s level of early stage accuracy is significant because “the only patients that seem to benefit from therapy in mesothelioma are those that are found in stage 1, and this is only 10 to 15 percent of patients.”
Mesothelioma is a malignancy of the mesothelial tissue surrounding internal organs. It spreads quickly and is caused by past exposure to asbestos – sometimes as long as 50 earlier. A multimodality treatment approach, with surgery as its basis, has been found to offer the best outcomes for the 2,000-3,000 people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Dr. Pass says earlier detection may make it possible for patients to have less radical surgery to control the cancer, giving them more treatment options even if the disease returns later.
The results of the testing on SomaLogic’s technique were presented at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando.
Sources:
Pass, Harvey et al, “Detection of mesothelioma in asbestos exposed individuals with aptamer proteomic technology”, April 4, 2011, Presentation abstract, American Association for Cancer Research website, “NYU Cancer Institute experts present at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011”, April 6, 2011, e!Science News website.
They are typically thought of as a cause of illness, but viruses may also be an important key to fighting the asbestos-linked cancer, mesothelioma. Medical researchers in Japan are using viruses to deliver information directly into mesothelioma cells in mice that can help the cells respond better to cancer-fighting medication. 
In the ongoing worldwide quest for an easier and more accurate way to diagnose malignant mesothelioma, one of the nation’s top mesothelioma research teams claims to have found a ‘promising’ new method.