A hazardous mineral asbestos

Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral known to have toxic properties. It was once used on a very large scale for ceilings, wall tiles, insulation and auto breaks. It was widely used in cement in the construction industries as it was resistant to heat, was durable, flexible and had good tensile strength. But asbestos is a very hazardous and potentially a fatal substance.

The use of asbestos in industries lead to dangerous diseases caused due to the inhalation of asbestos particles. Many workers working in the industries were unaware of this. One of the fatal diseases caused by this is mesothelioma. It may also lead to other problems such as asbestosis, lung cancer and fatal respiratory illnesses that incapacitate their victims.

In the twentieth century, medical researchers observed that a large number of deaths and lung problems occurred in asbestos mining towns. Investigations showed that thirty percent of the workers had asbestos-related lung disease. It takes a long time for asbestos to show its effects. The symptoms shown by them are also very common as shown by others diseases. Because of these problems it becomes very difficult to diagnose the fatal diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.

Asbestos is inextinguishable and thus its fibers that enter the air do not evaporate. They can remain suspended in the air for a long time. These toxic fibers when inhaled enter the lungs. These small particles of asbestos slowly and gradually affect the lungs.

There are three different types of asbestos exposure. First is the occupational asbestos exposure, where people working in factories that manufacture asbestos are at high risk of developing asbestosis or mesothelioma. Second is para occupational asbestos exposure, where the family members of workers get exposed to asbestos dust brought home by them on their clothes or skin. The third one is neighborhood asbestos exposure, where the people living in the vicinity of asbestos manufacturing plant are at risk.

Minimizing the exposure of Asbestos : Important 5 tips

Asbestos uses mainly for construction purposes as insulation for fiber proofing. Continues exposure to asbestos causes Mesothelioma lung cancer which may grow in 15 to 20 years. The people working the asbestos environment diagnose with the cancer whether they are in contact with the asbestos directly or indirectly. Continuously breathing or swallowing the asbestos particles over a period of time can cause several health hazards. Exposure to asbestos leads number of health problems, asbestos can be found in your home, in the backyard, in the old electricity board or in other part of the home.

However there are certain steps that you can minimize the exposure of asbestos, following given are some steps.

1. Asbestos can be in the insulation pipe, decomposed woods and other materials. Avoid disturbing the old waste materials such that it can contain high possible asbestos materials that can be dangerous for the health.

2. There are certain chances while repairing the house there might be some places like flooring, electrical boards, pipes where the asbestos can be heavily found. Cover all with the plastic and seal them while this will further minimize the exposure of asbestos.

3. When you are working in the asbestos usage industries take proper care wear protective suits and a mask that will not allow the asbestos particles get into your body while breathing. Take shower after working at the asbestos area so that all the asbestos particles attached to your body or in the cloth, in the shoes will be removed.

4. When moving the debris materials from the home cover all the debris if possible or keep the material wet such that water will reduce the asbestos exposure significantly.

5. Whenever the asbestos materials found in the home do not try to remove it by yourself contact the professional’s asbestos handlers, and do not even try to burn the debris until it examined thoroughly about the asbestos contain in it such that it should not become airborne.

As asbestos is known to be the naturally occurring minerals and it has many drawbacks that causes many several problems to human life. Continues working in the asbestos environment and not taking proper care is likely that the person can come in contact with the asbestos disease which may be affects the human body or his family members may be in danger. Therefore minimizing the exposure of asbestos is very much important.

Mesothelioma News: Mesothelioma hazard forces students out of school

This article was taken from maacenter.org

Elementary School in Sacramento, California have been relocated to Bear Flag Elementary School because of asbestos fibers found in the attic insulation of the school building. Asbestos is a toxic mineral that was commonly used in the manufacturing of insulation up until 1989, when asbestos was banned in the United States for causing a variety of fatal respiratory illnesses. Lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the body’s major cavities and organs, are the deadly legacy of asbestos exposure.

Although asbestos was found in the attic of the school, air testing conducted by an independent laboratory determined that asbestos has not made its way into the main building classrooms. If accurate, this would mean that students and staff will likely not have been exposed. Unfortunately asbestos cancer takes decades to develop, so many people don’t realize that they’ve been exposed until much later when they become ill.


The asbestos at Fruit Ridge was found when workers installing wireless technology at the school disturbed the attic insulation. The building has vermiculite insulation, considered a serious hazard because it contains a particularly dangerous type of asbestos, in the main building between the original ceiling and a second, newer drop-in ceiling. Tests found that the insulation contained a low concentration of asbestos between 0.067% percent and 0.17%.

The asbestos-containing insulation will be removed and the school will undergo a professional cleaning. The district has not said how long it expects the project to last or whether students will be able to return by the end of the current school year.

Source : maacenter.org

Hey Mesothelioma , "I'll make it"

Mesothelioma patients can justly smouldering with wish in the aboriginal stages. Agent is urgently immersion on judgement many impressive agency of treating this noxious disease. But dealing with progressive mesothelioma oftentimes requires modify greater power and many sources of livelihood.


Lung cancer life expectancy

If you are in pioneer 4 of mesothelioma, your theologian has most believable considered you to foregather your dear ones and grownup resources around you to cater you through this closing and most arduous reading. But no one can inform you the distinct amount of instance you faculty charged.
Whatsoever examination professionals will release you a arrange of nowadays for lung sign life prospect. But there is tremendous modification in the times that actual fill defeat. Most faculty not because it is so occasional. How eternal you testament last can depend on umteen unlike factors, and no one knows the feminist most all of them for you. This is the second, when you're dealings with advanced mesothelioma sign, that you and your household will necessity to art each day you change together as more as researchable that believes in relieving you of as more anguish as realistic during alleviant tutelage.

Stages of lung cancer

If you hazard your hit lung crab, it's chief to hit out all you can almost the stages of lung soul. And if you consider you ever unclothed to asbestos-on the job, in areas where you've lived, or from a bloodline member who may make brought asbestos fibers habitation on clothing-you'll requirement to gestate out as shortly as affirmable whether your disease is mesothelioma. If your physician has already assumption you a mesothelioma diagnosing, your introductory block is to hit out what traveling you are in.

What is Asbestos Causes Lung Cancer

Asbestos Cancer

Asbestos is also recognized as a voltage essential justification for lung someone; in fact the path asbestos most ofttimes enters the body is through the lungs. Tiny asbestos fibers that possess dashed off from an asbestos production that is beingness manipulated or is deteriorating can travel in the air equal tiny junk particles and be unknowingly indrawn.

These fibers cannot be shed by the embody and yet energy their   through the lung to the pleura, the application region the lungs. In many instances asbestos fibers brace in the lung and create asbestosis or worse, the processing to malign cells which metamorphose the fundament for lung sign. Asbestos fibers may be a basic justification for lung cancer or a tributary effort, as with fag smokers. Far author cases of lung human acquire pinion causes that are vaporisation affine.

Suchlike numerous forms of constellation, mesothelioma may distribute in its previous stages and grounds the development of tumors in additional areas of the body. Tardive pioneer mesothelioma may create tumors to improve within the lungs; at this show the persevering has mesothelioma as the election alter of sign and lung soul vicarious to pleural mesothelioma

Putative tumor-initiating progenitor cells predict poor lung cancer prognosis

Adult lung stem cells, vital to injury repair, associated with poor cancer prognosis, News release, UCLA Newsroom, August 17, 2010. Excerpts:

Adult stem cells that are vital for airway repair in the lung but that persist in areas where pre-cancerous lesions are found are associated with a poor prognosis in patients who develop cancer, even those with early-stage disease, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found.

.....

In this study, Gomperts and her team screened around 900 tumors removed from patients with non-small cell lung cancer at UCLA and the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center, looking to see whether the adult stem cells could be found in the tumor. In her lab, Gomperts is now studying the pre-cancerous lesions where the adult stem cells persist in an attempt to uncover the cascade of molecular events that may transform these cells into lung cancer stem cells.

The news release is based on this publication: Presence of a Putative Tumor-Initiating Progenitor Cell Population Predicts Poor Prognosis in Smokers with Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer by Aik T Ooi and 19 co-authors, including Brigitte N Gomperts, Cancer Res 2010(Aug 15); 70(16): 6639-48. [PubMed citation][Full text]. Abstract:

Smoking is the most important known risk factor for the development of lung cancer. Tobacco exposure results in chronic inflammation, tissue injury, and repair. A recent hypothesis argues for a stem/progenitor cell involved in airway epithelial repair that may be a tumor-initiating cell in lung cancer and which may be associated with recurrence and metastasis. We used immunostaining, quantitative real-time PCR, Western blots, and lung cancer tissue microarrays to identify subpopulations of airway epithelial stem/progenitor cells under steady-state conditions, normal repair, aberrant repair with premalignant lesions and lung cancer, and their correlation with injury and prognosis. We identified a population of keratin 14 (K14)-expressing progenitor epithelial cells that was involved in repair after injury. Dysregulated repair resulted in the persistence of K14+ cells in the airway epithelium in potentially premalignant lesions. The presence of K14+ progenitor airway epithelial cells in NSCLC predicted a poor prognosis, and this predictive value was strongest in smokers, in which it also correlated with metastasis. This suggests that reparative K14+ progenitor cells may be tumor-initiating cells in this subgroup of smokers with NSCLC.

CSC news update 2010-07-03

For links to recent news items about CSC, visit this [Topsy] page. An example of a news item that has received attention in the past week:

Cancer Stem Cells Are Not 'One Size Fits All,' Lung Cancer Models Show http://bit.ly/bE9F0V & http://bit.ly/amEkFR. Hashtag: #cancerSC. Posted to Twitter on Fri Jul 02 via TweetDeck

How to Avoid Mesothelioma

Below are some questions and answers that will explain to avoid Mesothelioma.


Not many people heard of Mesothelioma and are unaware of their symptoms. The disease is considered a cancer which are difficult to find, but the number of cases each year continues to increase. Prevalence rate of this disease is very large so it is important to understand what, why and how Mesothelioma develops.


Meaning of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a malignant (cancerous). The Cancer cells are found in the mesothelium, it is a protective sac that covers most organs in the body. These cancer cells often attacks the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. The most common form is pleural mesothelioma. Pleural Mesothelioma is cancer of the lining of the lungs. And cancer cells can be found in the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum) and the layer around the heart (pericardium).

Causes of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is usually caused by asbestos. Asbestos material is often found in pipes, boiler insulation, floor, ceiling and roof tiles. Asbestos material is in the environment such as asbestos mills, mines, shipping yards, some Navy ships or even older patients at home. About 3000 cases of mesothelioma per year are currently being diagnosed. Family members of workers exposed to asbestos can also contract this disease through exposure to workers' clothing. Like other cancers, smoking greatly increases the risk of contracting mesothelioma.

Volume of Asbestos that will Cause Mesothelioma

The development of this cancer are directly related to length of time you are exposed to asbestos. And health risks also increased with the intensity of exposed asbestos. A presentation stating that only one or two months exposed to asbestos, can cause mesothelioma in 30 or 40 years later.

That are some points to explain how to avoid Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma Cancer Treatment

Cancer is a kind of disease, mesothelioma from exposure

To the relevant material asbestos. Asbestos fiber, usually by then
Enter the body through the mouth or skin, then enter
Lung and blood.

Mesothelioma cancer has become more widely in the record last 5-10 years,
Due to the symptoms of asbestos cancer between 20 to 40 years for
To manifest. Cancer is difficult to diagnose mesothelioma symptoms, such as no tendency
Until then show their disease. Symptoms,
Mesothelioma lung cancer has shortness of breath, chest pain, fever and other
Minor illnesses such as pneumonia.

The most commonly occurs in the asbestos cancer men between the ages of 50-70 years old
Who were exposed to high levels of asbestos in the workplace. Asbestos is
Mainly used in manufacturing industry, such as automobile, shipbuilding
In the construction industry. With asbestos is only recently
In 1990.

Mesthelioma lung cancer has been found to be the most common form
It happened in the lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma (.).
Cancer can also mesothelioma abdominal peritoneum) (
In the heart (pericardial). Have a greater chance of malignant
Abdominal asbestos cancer. For a more detailed explanation of smoking
Cancer,

Smoking can be detected by lung CT scan, make it
Sometimes the diagnosis of early than the other two types of mesothelioma cancer.
This type of cancer therapy depends on the stage of cancer. Entry
The patient was diagnosed, age and individual be fond of. Alzheimer�s disease
Four different stage division. At this stage of the process, reached the disease
Cancer treatment method to determine the entry. In the first stage
Cancer of the lungs, only can attempt to remove surgeon
Surgical resection of the tumor. Once the tumor into the surrounding the body
In a later period, it cannot be cured.

Generally speaking, the more advanced mesothelioma
Cancer treatment is radiation and chemotherapy. Radiation,
Using high energy X-ray destroy cancerous cells treated with contraction
Cancer chemotherapy, on the other hand, the use of drugs to destroy the cancer cells.
The aim is to extend the entry of cancer therapy the patient�s life
Because of the more advanced disease can not be cured.

Besides the traditional mesothelioma cancer treatment, also have
Currently investigating different experimental treatments with new
Hope.

This form of biological immune: treatment mesothelioma cancer treatment
Using the patient�s own immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. Clinical research,
The immune system that can distinguish healthy cell tumor cells,
So can be used to destroy the cancer cells.

Gene therapy: this type of cancer therapy is still in the entry
Stage of development. This course includes into a particular genes
Into the tumor. The genes that cancer cells sensitive
Glanciclovir antiviral drugs, in normal circumstance is not practical
According to these cells. This glanciclovir can destroy all the cancer
No damage healthy tissue cells.

Drug treatment of symptomatic only: drug approved drugs
The us food and drug administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with malignant tumor
Mesothelioma lung cancer. This new and exciting drugs has been proved in practice
Test, reducing symptoms and increase the patients.

Photodynamic therapy: photodynamic therapy including use
Light to kill cancer cells. Patient first
Photosensitizing drugs, only collect in cancer cells. Optical fiber cable
Then insert the body, so that the frequency of light must focus
Tumor. Light stimulates photosensitizing toxic oxygen molecule drugs
The destroy cancerous cells.

These experiments, although still mesothelioma cancer treatment in development,
Cancer patients to provide better prospects and long service life. with
The possibility that more and more people have been diagnosed with asbestos
Cancer, further research for other forms of cancer therapy mesothelioma
Is of vital importance.

Source : Meso

Three Types of Malignant Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma cell lines the inside chest and abdomen, as well as heartfelt bag - the cavity around the heart. These cells are also lines the surface of most internal organs.


Fabric formed mezotelialnymi cells is called mezoteliya. Mezotely chest called pleurisy, abdominal - ventral cavity and heart - pericardium. Tumors mezoteliya are benign and malignant, and usually there are malignant tumors, called mesothelioma.






There are three types of malignant mezoteliom:
1. Epitelioidny type of 50-70% of all mezoteliom and with the best prognosis (outcome).


2. Sarkomatoidny type (7-20%).


3. Mixed type (20-35%).


Nearly 3 / 4 mezoteliom occurs in the thoracic cavity and are called the pleura mezoteliom. In 10-20% of the tumor develops in the abdomen - mesothelioma peritoneum. Mesothelioma pericardiocentesis occur very infrequently.


How frequently malignant mesothelioma occur?
Mesothelioma is a rare tumor, which is more common in men after 50 years. Every year thousands of new evidence of 2-3 cases. The tumor may be a long time, asymptomatic, and therefore is often detected at later stages, which negatively influences the prognosis (outcome) of disease. The average survival rate of patients is usually only 1-2 years.


Risk factors of malignant mesothelioma.
Exposure to asbestos is a major risk factor for mesothelioma. Asbestos is used in the manufacture of insulation and fire-resistant materials, tiles, brake pads, etc. Once the relationship of contact with asbestos and mesothelioma development of this substance has been dramatically reduced.
The risk of developing mesothelioma depends on the intensity and duration of exposure to asbestos. Prolonged contact at a young age greatly increases the risk of mesothelioma. The time period from the time of first contact with asbestos before the diagnosis of tumors is 20-50 years.


Smoking by itself does not affect the increase in the development of mesothelioma, but the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases the risk of developing lung cancer. A smoking people exposed to asbestos, the risk of developing lung cancer increased in the 50-90 times compared with the general population.


To prevent (prevent) the development of mesothelioma must be taken to avoid contact with asbestos at home and at work.




Diagnosis of mesothelioma
Early symptoms mezoteliom are not specific. They are sometimes ignored or taken for patients of normal neopuholevyh diseases. Most patients with mesothelioma symptoms appear in 2-3 months to identify the tumor. A number of patients with symptoms may continue for 6 months or more.


50% of patients with mesothelioma pleura note at the bottom of a chest pain in the side or rear surface. Many patients complain of shortness of breath. In some cases, there is difficulty swallowing, coughing, sweating, weakness, weight loss and increased temperature. Other symptoms can indicate osiplost voice, hemoptysis, swelling of the face and upper limbs.


Patients with mesothelioma peritoneum possible abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, weight loss. Some patients may receive the fluid in the abdomen (ascites) and / or swelling.


If you like mezoteliomu is an urgent need to consult a doctor to ascertain the presence of risk factors and appoint survey. During the examination the doctor can detect the presence of fluid in the pleural cavity (pleurisy), abdomen (ascites) or perikarde (pericarditis), which occurs as a result of the development of tumors.


Chest x-ray can detect thickening of pleura, the presence of kaltsifikatov (mineral deposits) in plevre and fluid in the pleural cavity.


Computer tomography (CT) makes it possible to diagnose mesothelioma and to determine the prevalence of (stage).


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help identify lesions diaphragm - the muscle tissue, which separates the chest and abdominal cavity.


Thoracoscopy (examination of pleural cavity with a special device) you can not only identify the tumor, but also to make a biopsy (take a piece of tissue for research) or to obtain fluid for microscopic studies to clarify the diagnosis.


Laparoscopy (abdominal examination with the help of the device) you can examine the abdominal cavity, take a piece of the tumor, or fluid for research.




Stages (prevalence), mesothelioma
Currently, only differentiated stage mesothelioma pleura, as occurs much more frequently than others localizations. There are 4 stages pleura mesothelioma.


Stage I - the tumor affects plevru the left or right, and the lymph nodes in the process is not involved.


Stage II - one-sided defeat of pleura and the spread of tumor in the diaphragm or lung tissue.


Stage III - one-sided defeat of pleura and distribution process on the front chest wall, or fatty tissue mediastinum, or pericardium, or lymph nodes on the side of mesothelioma.


Stage IV - mesothelioma involved in muscle or ribs, or sprouts diaphragm, or esophagus, trachea, thymus, the major blood vessels, or spine, or moving to the other side, or distributed through the bloodstream to distant organs.


Treatment of malignant mesothelioma
The choice of treatment depends on several factors including the stage of the tumor, the general condition of the patient and his views. Given the rarity of mesothelioma, it is advisable to carry out specialized cancer treatment facilities that have experience in the treatment of such patients.
Surgical treatment
The operation can be performed as a palliative or therapeutic purposes. A palliative operation meant surgery, which can eliminate or reduce pain or discomfort caused by the growth of tumors. Such operations are used when it is impossible to remove a tumor because of the prevalence of the condition of the patient or heavy.


Plevroektomiya / decortication is generally palliative operation is to remove the pleura, which prevents the accumulation of fluid and reduce the pain.


Torakotsentez - a procedure in which a needle is removed from the liquid from the pleural cavity to facilitate the patient's condition.


The introduction of talc or antibiotics in the pleural cavity in order to temporarily prevent the accumulation of fluid in the well in 90% of patients with mesothelioma pleura.


Puncture the front abdominal wall allows you to remove the accumulated fluid in the abdomen in patients with mesothelioma peritoneum.


Patients with mesothelioma pericardiocentesis pericardiocentesis execution provides an opportunity to remove fluid and improve the heart's activity.


Patients in a satisfactory condition with a localized tumor, performing radical surgery, ie complete removal of mesothelioma.
One should bear in mind that often, after the alleged radical operations are microscopic tumor foci. In this regard, the importance of radical operations in patients with mesothelioma contested.


Vneplevralnaya pneumonectomy is the removal of pleura, diaphragm, pericardiocentesis and light on the side of destruction. This extended operation can be performed only highly trained surgeons, oncologists in the patients with good general condition with severe concomitant diseases.


In patients with localized mezotelimoy peritoneum may be an attempt to remove a tumor along with part of the abdominal wall. Unfortunately, most patients with mesothelioma peritoneum performance of radical operations can not be in the prevalence of the process.


In the case of localized lesions pericardiocentesis performed his disposal, and in the dissemination process - palliative intervention to prevent the accumulation of fluid.




Radiation therapy
External radiation is used in patients with mesothelioma frequently.
With internal radiation radioactive material is brought directly to the tumor.
This type of radiation therapy is used as the primary method of treatment for patients in serious condition, when they can not move a serious operation.


Supporting radiotherapy after non appointed operations to destroy the remaining cancer cells.
Palliative irradiation is used to alleviate symptoms caused by the growth of tumors: shortness of breath, pain, bleeding and difficulty swallowing.


Radiation therapy can cause adverse reactions and complications in the form of burning the skin, weakness, nausea, vomiting, liquid stool, damage lung tissue, difficulty breathing.
Most adverse events being held after the completion of the course of irradiation.
It is known that radiation therapy may increase the side effects of chemotherapy.




Chemotherapy
When treating patients with malignant mesothelioma drugs could be imposed not only intravenously, but intrapleural and vnutriperitonealno (in the abdominal cavity).
Depending on the stage of tumor chemotherapy can be both substantive and supportive treatment. Moreover, chemotherapy is used only as a palliative, giving only a temporary effect.
Of the anticancer drugs used: doxorubicin, cisplatin, methotrexate, vinorelbin and others in various combinations.


On the adverse reactions of chemotherapy include: nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, hair loss, the appearance of ulcers in the mouth, increased susceptibility to infections, bleeding. Most adverse events being held after completion of treatment.

Source : Over Mesothelioma

Risk Factors for Malignant Mesothelioma?

What are the risk factors for malignant mesothelioma?

There are several risk factors that increase the likelihood that a person will develop mesothelioma. The primary risk factor is asbestos exposure. Exposure to this very harmful substance can significantly enhance the chances of contracting the disease. Other secondary factors include exposure to radiation, zeolite, simian virus 40 (SV40) and tobacco. We discuss each of these risk factors in more detail below.

Asbestos

Exposure to asbestos is the leading risk factor associated with mesothelioma. Asbestos is an insulating material comprised of magnesium-silicate mineral fibers. It was favored by builders and contractors for many years for its low heat conductivity and resistance to melting and burning. Since researchers have identified more and more links between mesothelioma and exposure to asbestos, the material is now less widely used. Prior to this discovery, however, millions of Americans have experienced serious exposure to this harmful substance.

Over 700,000 schools and buildings in the United States today contain asbestos insulation as reported by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Asbestos exposure doesn�t stop there, however. Asbestos is often found in ship yards, manufacturing facilities, railway facilities and construction sites. Blue collar workers are at the highest risk for developing mesothelioma due to occupational exposure and include those who work in mines, factories, shipyards, construction sites, railroads and for insulation manufacturers and gas mask manufacturers. The occupations most widely affected are miners, factory workers, railroad workers, ship builders and construction workers - especially those who install asbestos containing insulation. Sometimes family members related to the workers receive second hand exposure to asbestos from the dust and fibers that were brought home on the workers clothes and also become at risk for contracting mesothelioma.

Serpentine fibers and amphiboles are the 2 primary types of asbestos used. Chrysotile is a form of serpentine fiber and the most frequently used. These fibers tend to be curly and flexible. Amphibole fibers, however, are generally straight and thin and usually comprise one of five types: crocidolite, amosite, anthrophylite, tremolite, and actinolyte. The crocidolite type of Amphiboles is thought to be the leading contributor to cancer caused by asbestos. Serpentine fibers are dangerous as well, however, and have also been linked to mesothelioma.

Some research points to the fact that inhaled asbestos fibers cause a physical irritation resulting in cancer rather than the cancer being caused by a reaction that is more chemical in nature. As fibers are inhaled through the mouth and nose they are cleared from the body by adhering to mucus in the nose, throat and airways and then get expelled by coughing or swallowing. The Amphibole fibers (long and thin) do not clear as easily and it is therefore thought that they can embed into the lining of the lungs and chest and result in mesothelioma.

Asbestosis (scar tissue in the lungs) or lung cancer can also be caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. In fact, people exposed to asbestos are seven times more likely to develop lung cancer over the general public. Workers who sustain high levels of asbestos exposure are more likely to die from asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma than any other disease. It is also believed that the action of coughing up and swallowing asbestos could contribute to a form of mesothelioma originating in the abdomen called peritoneal mesothelioma. Mesothelioma has been found to exist in other organs of the body as well such as the larynx, pancreas and colon, but those instances are extremely limited compared to lung cancer incidents.

The chance of developing mesothelioma is in direct proportion to the duration and amount of asbestos exposure that an individual sustains. Those who are exposed to high levels of asbestos at a young age, for long periods of time have a greater risk of being diagnosed with mesothelioma than those who have short, low level exposure. Another important consideration is that Mesothelioma can take a long time to manifest. Often, twenty to forty years can elapse from the time of exposure to diagnosis. Genetic factors can also play a role which explains why not everyone exposed to asbestos develops and asbestos related disease.

Radiation

Thorium dioxide (Thorotrast), a substance used in x-ray tests in the past has reported links to pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. The use of Thorotrast has been discontinued for many years due to this discovery.

Zeolite

Some mesothelioma cases in the Anatoli region within Turkey have been linked to Zeolite, a silica based mineral with chemical properties similar to asbestos found in the soil there.

Simian Virus 40 (SV40)

Some scientists have found the simian virus 40 (SV30) in mesothelioma cells from humans and have been able to create mesothelioma in animals with the virus. The relationship between this virus and mesothelioma is still unclear, however, and further research is being conducted to gain clarity on this potential link.

Tobacco

Smoking alone is not linked to mesothelioma, but smokers who are exposed to asbestos have a much higher chance of developing lung cancer (as much as fifty to ninety percent higher). Research indicates that lung cancer is the leading cause of death among asbestos workers.

Source : National Cancer Institute - Fact Sheets: Risk Factors and Possible Causes
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk

Where's your wife?

Cancer Bitch recommends that you do not ask this question. She has asked it twice in the last 2 years and it was awkward in the first case. So why did she ask it again? She is a slow learner.

In spring or summer of 2007, she greeted one of her husband's co-workers at a fundraiser by asking where his wife was. He said, I don't know, and Cancer Bitch quickly understood that something was amiss. She asked her husband L, Why didn't you tell me? and he said he'd just found out himself. L is never the bearer of good gossip; he doesn't ask enough questions. The co-worker and wife are still separated.

At the Kol Nidre service at the hippie congregation, the rabbi asked everyone to introduce themselves to their neighbors. The man in front of her turned and they realized they knew one another. One of Cancer Bitch's pre-Prozac boyfriends (read: angst-ridden relationship) was friends with this man, M, and Cancer Bitch would always talk to the wife L when they ran into one another. Cancer Bitch remembered the wife describing how she photocopied her dissertation at her husband's office and sent out copies of the manuscript to agent after agent. Or was it publisher after publisher? And it was published. L sang in Hebrew and Yiddish and had red-frame glasses and a New York accent. Her husband told C Bitch: She passed away. Four months ago.

After services M said that a year ago she'd had a seizure while singing in California and they'd found out that she had lung cancer that had gone to her brain.
She returned early to Chicago so she could sing on Yom Kippur with the hippies. She died at home, her sons sniging to her till the end.

Cncer Bitch had not heard, obviously. The family took out a paid notice in the New York Times, but not in the local papers. There is too much cancer-dying these days. There was L above; and K's wife E, who also had lung cancer; and the wife of another old boyfriend, after five cancer-free years; and her friend P's cousin is dying of ovarian cancer. There are heart problems and neurological damage and it seems that absolutely everyone is getting dental implants. This is middle age and it is only the beginning of the body's decline. Cancer Bitch has finally begun calling herself middle aged. For years and years she'd considered her mother to be middle-aged, but now that her mother is 81, she has to face facts. Sunday in Evanston Cancer Bitch walked past a house on Chicago Avenue north of Dempster and as always, remembered the time in 1980 when she went there to see about renting a room, and the guy there said that a cute Southern girl with a great accent was there first and he couldn't resist. She told this to her husband who said loyally, You were a cute Southern girl. She thinks about the Southern girl every time she passes the house but Sunday was the first time the memory was accompanied by a strong swoop of sadness: the passage of time. She thought of herself in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her. The sadness of losing that feeling of potential. She doesn't regret her choices, except her many hours of wasting time, but she is no longer young, no longer just becoming, that's the point. Yeah yeah, there was Grandma Moses who started painting late in life, but there was also Mary McMarthy who told Cancer Bitch (in an interview in Florida) that people in their sixties and older couldn't write novels any more. She was referring to herself.

C Bitch has a novel in a file cabinet in the other room and in her computer and needs to gear gear up to revise and rework it.

Aurothiomalate being studied in a preclinical lung cancer model

Mayo Clinic researchers find lung cancer oncogene holds key to turning off cancer stem cells, News Release, Mayo Clinic, September 8, 2009. First two paragraphs:

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found that the lung cancer oncogene PKCiota is necessary for the proliferation of lung cancer stem cells. These stem cells are rare and powerful master cells that manufacture the other cells that make up lung tumors and are resistant to chemotherapy treatment.

Their study, published in the Oct. 1 issue of Cancer Research, also shows that an agent, aurothiomalate, being tested at Mayo Clinic in a phase I clinical trial substantially inhibits growth of these cancer stem cells.

The news release is about this publication: Atypical Protein Kinase C{iota} Is Required for Bronchioalveolar Stem Cell Expansion and Lung Tumorigenesis by Roderick P Regala and 5 co-authors, including Alan P Fields, Cancer Res 2009(Sep 8) [Epub ahead of print][PubMed Citation]. The final paragraph of the full text:

Our present results show that aurothiomalate exhibits potent antiproliferative activity toward the tumor stem cell niche in a relevant preclinical lung cancer model. Future studies will be required to assess whether aurothiomalate has similar antiproliferative effects on human lung cancer stem cells isolated from primary human lung tumors.

Comment: The publication reports results that were obtained using a mouse model. The News Release states that a Phase I clinical trial is under way at the Mayo Clinic, but this trial isn't mentioned in the full text of the publication in Cancer Research. According to MedicineNet.com, aurothiomalate is a "gold-containing chemical (salt) used in treating rheumatoid arthritis".

Malignant Pleural Effusions (MPE) as a model

Researchers Develop Model that May Help Identify Lung Cancer Stem Cells, News Release, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, June 16, 2009. First paragraph:

Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, on a quest to find lung cancer stem cells, have developed a unique model to allow further investigation into the cells that many believe may be at the root of all lung cancers.

See also: Researchers Use Malignant Pleural Effusion as Model for Lung Cancer, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, June 16, 2009.

Based on: The Malignant Pleural Effusion as a Model to Investigate Intratumoral Heterogeneity in Lung Cancer by Saroj K Basak and 7 co-authors, including Raj K Batra, PLoS ONE 2009(Jun 12); 4(6): e5884 [Entry in FriendFeed]. Abstract:

Malignant Pleural Effusions (MPE) may be useful as a model to study hierarchical progression of cancer and/or intratumoral heterogeneity. To strengthen the rationale for developing the MPE-model for these purposes, we set out to find evidence for the presence of cancer stem cells (CSC) in MPE and demonstrate an ability to sustain intratumoral heterogeneity in MPE-primary cultures. Our studies show that candidate lung CSC-expression signatures (PTEN, OCT4, hTERT, Bmi1, EZH2 and SUZ12) are evident in cell pellets isolated from MPE, and MPE-cytopathology also labels candidate-CSC (CD44, cMET, MDR-1, ALDH) subpopulations. Moreover, in primary cultures that use MPE as the source of both tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME), candidate CSC are maintained over time. This allows us to live-sort candidate CSC-fractions from the MPE-tumor mix on the basis of surface markers (CD44, c-MET, uPAR, MDR-1) or differences in xenobiotic metabolism (ALDH). Thus, MPE-primary cultures provide an avenue to extract candidate CSC populations from individual (isogenic) MPE-tumors. This will allow us to test whether these cells can be discriminated in functional bioassays. Tumor heterogeneity in MPE-primary cultures is evidenced by variable immunolabeling, differences in colony-morphology, and differences in proliferation rates of cell subpopulations. Collectively, these data justify the ongoing development of the MPE-model for the investigation of intratumoral heterogeneity, tumor-TME interactions, and phenotypic validation of candidate lung CSC, in addition to providing direction for the pre-clinical development of rational therapeutics.