Asbestos and Keeping Safe
Asbestos is the name given to a group of naturally occurring silicate materials. In the past, asbestos was attractive because of its heat resistance, tensile strength and flexibility. Because of its attractiveness, it has been used in a variety of different products, including insulation materials, building materials, and brakes and clutches for automobiles. These are […]
Mesothelioma and Women
A rare and aggressive form of cancer, there are about 3,000 cases of mesothelioma documented each year in the United States. Most cases of mesothelioma come from occupational asbestos exposure in certain professions such as construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding, plumbing, carpentry and more. Most cases of mesothelioma occur in men as they were predominantly in these […]
How to Manage Advanced Pleural Mesothelioma
Before 2020, the normal standard of treatment in the first line setting for those with pleural mesothelioma was chemotherapy, with a combination of platinum and pemetrexed. The CheckMate 743 trial showed promising results for another form of treatment in 2020, which was then approved for use. This treatment involved a multimodality approach by combining immunotherapy […]
The PrE0505 Study
For many years, the only approved systemic therapy for treating malignant pleural mesothelioma was cisplatin and pemetrexed combination therapy. The phase 2 DREAM study which involves durvalumab with chemotherapy, ended up resulting in a progression-free survival at six months. Additionally, combining the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab with the anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab improved survival for patients who […]
Mesothelioma – Testing, Treatment and Processes
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a thoracic malignancy and the most common form of mesothelioma. Patients may come in to see a doctor with chest pain and breathlessness related to a pleural effusion, which is a pathologic collection of fluid between the visceral and parietal pleura in the thoracic cavity. Testing There are a variety […]
