Mesothelioma Empowerment Update - July 30, 2009

July 30, 2009

	Orange County Beach Babe - Wife, Mother and Grandma - Keeping Her Cool WIth Cryoablation for her Mesothelioma. San Clemente, CA Dolores Luebke is a 58 year-old mother and recent grandmother living in the idyllic seaside village of San Clemente, California with her husband Kurt, to whom she has been married to for 32 years. She was celebrating the arrival of her first grandchild in April 2008 before questions about her own health arose. More...
Dolores Luebke
	Rembering My "Poolboy" - Lois Schwarting Last nite I had a hard time thinking of what to write for Marty’s memorial and finally got it done. Then in bed, remembered the things I had wanted to say... And not a "tear jerker" to mourn his death, but to celebrate his life - so I rewrote and will read and probably ad lib. More...
Marty Schwarting
	Charles was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, biphasic cell type, on February 11, 2008. In September of 2008. he underwent the pleurectomy/decortication surgery with Dr. Robert Cameron at UCLA Medical Center. Charles has been seen once every three months and undergoes CT and PET scans before every visit so Dr. Cameron can determine whether the tumor is recurring. More...
Charles Van Kirk
	Labor Power Co-Founder Chris Hipp Dies, 1961-2009 More...
Christopher Hipp

Diagnosis / staging:

Caveolin-1 is a novel immunohistochemical marker to differentiate epithelioid mesothelioma from lung adenocarcinoma (7/30/2009) 

There is difficulty in the accurate diagnosis of mesothelioma and its differentiation from lung adenocarcinoma. Mesothelioma shows a complex immunohistochemical profile. Therefore, the use of a immunohistochemical panel that includes both positive and negative mesothelial markers has become a general rule for its accurate diagnosis. More...

Chemotherapy:

Combining Immunotoxin and Chemotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma (7/14/2009)

Phase I Study of SS1(dsFv)-PE38 Immunotoxin in Combination with Pemetrexed Disodium and Cisplatin in Patients with Unresectable Malignant Epithelial Pleural Mesothelioma (NCI-08-C-0026). More...

Mesothelioma Cells Escape Heat Stress by Upregulating Hsp40/Hsp70 Expression via Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (7/30/2009)

Therapy with hyperthermal chemotherapy in pleural diffuse malignant mesothelioma had limited benefits for patients. Here we investigated the effect of heat stress on heat shock proteins (HSP), which rescue tumour cells from apoptosis. More...

Phenotype-dependent Apoptosis Signalling in Mesothelioma Cells After Selenite Exposure (7/30/2009)

Selenite is a promising anticancer agent which has been shown to induce apoptosis in malignant mesothelioma cells in a phenotype-dependent manner, where cells of the chemoresistant sarcomatoid phenotype are more sensitive. More...

Clinical Trials:

Ranpirnase Added to Doxorubicin Improves Survival in Patients with Unresectable Mesothelioma (7/30/2009)

According to findings from a phase 3 trial presented on June 1, 2009 at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), a combination of ranpirnase and doxorubicin is a safe and feasible treatment in unresectable mesothelioma and showed a significant impact on survival of pretreated patients compared to doxorubicin alone. More...

Trimodal Therapy:

Multicenter Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Pemetrexed Plus Cisplatin Followed by Extrapleural Pneumonectomy and Radiation for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (7/30/2009)

Neoadjuvant pemetrexed plus cisplatin was administered, followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) and hemithoracic radiation (RT), to assess the feasibility and efficacy of trimodality therapy in stage I to III malignant pleural mesothelioma. More...

Public Policy and Awareness:

EPA Announces Public Health Emergency in Libby, Montana; EPA to Move Aggressively on Cleanup and Department of Health and Human Services to Assist Area Residents with Medical Care (6/17/2009)

This is the first time EPA has made a determination under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) that conditions at a site constitute a public health emergency. This determination recognizes the serious impact to the public health from the contamination at Libby and underscores the need for further action and health care for area residents who have been or may be exposed to asbestos. More...

CBS Finally Recalls CSI Crime-lab Toy That Contains Asbestos (7/7/2009)

Just before Christmas 2007, an asbestos victims’ organization commissioned a test that had found potentially lethal asbestos fibers in the fingerprint powder of CBS broadcasting’s best-selling “CSI Crime Lab” toys. Only now, 20 months later, after prodding from a judge presiding over a nationwide class action suit on the contaminated products, has CBS agreed to a settlement. More... 

Epidemiology

Centers for Disease Control Confirms that Deaths from Mesothelioma are Continuing to Rise in the United States. (7/30/2009)

In a recent report, the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) confirmed that the yearly number of deaths caused by the asbestos cancer mesothelioma is continuing to rise in the United States. More...