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Second Mesothelioma Surgeries Can Help Extend Lives and Improve Quality of Life of Patients

Surgery can be hard on the body, but it can help some mesothelioma patients if done a second time. People could still have a good quality of life and even an extended survival if they undergo the aggressive surgery. This surgery is not common and would not be recommended for[…]

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Dielectric Properties of Matched Tissue Samples From Thoracic Malignancies and Corresponding Normal Tissues

The purpose of the Dielectrics Properties of Thoracic Malignancies Study (DPTMS) is to provide a wealth of knowledge for investigators involved in establishing a new and effective treatment for a variety of solid tumors using tumor treatment fields. It is intended to provide biospecimen (tumor/healthy) together with demographic data (age, sex, race, occupational history, and other epidemiologic information), and clinical data (stage, treatment, survival information, and annotated CT’s). Our specific aims are to test the following hypotheses: 1) Electric properties of thoracic tumors differ from electric properties of surrounding healthy tissue 2) Different tumor types will have different electric properties 3) Electric properties of individual tumors are heterogeneous 4) Electric properties of tumors are related to the structure and composition of the underlying tissue 5) Use of standard medical imaging data (CT) will permit mapping of electric properties.

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Women with Pleural Mesothelioma Live Longer Compared to Men

Mesothelioma is not found in as many women as men, but studies show that women can survive longer than men. Researchers at the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that a gene can help predict the prognosis and treatment outcome for women patients with mesothelioma.[…]

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Frequency and Clinical Phenotype of BAP1 Hereditary Predisposition Syndrome

Primary Outcome Measures Prevalence of germline BAP1 variants in the unselected general population of cancer patients [ Time Frame: 5 years ] Clinical phenotypes (this includes premalignant lesions, tumor type and age of onset) in at risk blood-line family members of the patients [ Time Frame: 5 years ] Secondary Outcome Measures Environmental risk factors modifying cancer risk[…]

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ONCOS-102 Improves Pleural Mesothelioma Survival

There is promising new data from the makers of ONCOS-102 that shows that the treatment can help improve the long-term survival of mesothelioma patients. ONCOS-102 was recently given Fast-Track approval by the FDA to speed up its development. ONCOS-102 is a modified adenovirus that infects cancer cells. The new mesothelioma[…]

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Researchers are Developing a Test to Determine Which Mesothelioma Patients Will Benefit From Immunotherapy

Doctors want to figure out which pleural mesothelioma patients will best benefit from certain chemotherapy drugs. Currently there are no tests to see what immunotherapy drugs might work on a specific patient. This leads to doctors trying out different treatments that have negative side effects to only find out the[…]

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Genetic Testing Could Help Reduce Mesothelioma Cases and Help the Survival of Those Suffering from the Disease

Researchers believe that early genetic testing for genetic mutations can help reduce the cases of mesothelioma and can help increase the survival of those suffering from the disease. Researchers found that new mutations in the BLM gene were making people more susceptible to developing mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos.[…]

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Nivolumab Can Help Increase the Survival in Mesothelioma Patients Whose Cancer Has Relapsed

A study in the United Kingdom involving 332 patients who cannot receive surgery (unresectable) found that patients whose mesothelioma has relapsed can be treated with nivolumab safely. Nivolumab is an immunotherapy drug known as Opdivo, which is popular for treating non-small cell lung cancer. Opdivo is promising because it is[…]

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SMART Mesothelioma Procedure Could Extend the Lives of Certain Mesothelioma Patients

Accelerated high dose radiation before surgery created a 65.9 month survival for mesothelioma patients. They were part of a clinical trial in Toronto at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center. The study is named SMART, an acronym for Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy. There were 96 patients who were treated[…]

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