Science-Query.com

Clinical investigation of malignant mesothelioma in Japan.

Clinical investigation of malignant mesothelioma in Japan.

J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2010 Mar 6;

Authors: Fujimoto N, Aoe K, Gemba K, Kato K, Yamazaki K, Kishimoto T

PURPOSE: The asbestos-related problems caused much social concern; however, no large-scale study was conducted about clinical features of MM in Japan. Patients with MM who have a history of occupational asbestos exposure (AE) are provided worker's compensation in Japan. However, only about 10% of MM cases were actually claimed and compensated. So there is still controversy over the association between MM and AE. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical features of MM. We also aimed to clarify the association between MM and occupational AE in Japan. METHODS: We examined the clinical features of MM cases. Clinical information was obtained including gender, age, site of origin, pathological subtype, radiological findings, and treatment outcome. To investigate the association between MM and AE, investigators interviewed all patients regarding work and residential history. RESULTS: Between January 2005 and December 2007, 105 cases (median age: 63 years, range 35-80, male/female: 88/17) were diagnosed with MM in the Rosai Hospital group and related facilities. Among them, 94(89.5%) cases originated in the pleura, 7(6.7%) in the peritoneum, 2(1.9%) in the pericardium, and 1(0.9%) in the tunica vaginalis testis. There were 69(65.7%) epithelioid, 19(18.1%) biphasic, 16(15.2%) sarcomatoid, and 1 unclassified pathological subtypes of MM. A favorable survival rate was indicated in the patient group of MPM that underwent surgery compared to others, though it was not statistically significant (P = 0.1743). The occupational AE was indicated in 89 cases (84.8%). Three patients had no history of occupational AE, but lived with someone who was in an occupation that handled asbestos. There were two patients in which AE was indicated in their life environment. Altogether, AE was indicated in 93(88.6%) patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study stresses the urgent need for physicians to acknowledge the association between MM and AE, and to inquire thoroughly regarding AE to the patients with MM.

PMID: 20213099 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[News of the Week] Pharmacology: Growth Hormone Test Finally Nabs First Doper

Last week's announcement of the first athlete to be caught by a blood test designed to detect doping with human growth hormone to boost muscle mass represents a warning to athletes who may have thought HGH use was undetectable, and it also erases lingering doubts about the test among scientists.

Author: John Travis

Arzt – und weg? Ja, Arzt – und weg!

Chancen und Nebenwirkungen für junge deutsche Ärzte im Ausland

Viele junge deutsche Ärzte zieht es noch immer ins Ausland. Die Schweiz, Großbritiannien und Skandinavien stehen auf dem Wunschzettel ganz oben. Welche Chancen und Nebenwirkungen die Arbeit im Ausland bietet, beschreibt der Autor Manfred Bausch in seinem Buch "Arzt - und weg".
Ein Arztkittel hängt in einem Sprechzimmer neben einem anatomischen Plakat.
(Bild: AP)

Deutschlandfunk · Campus * Karriere · 10.3.2010

RetireSafe Urges All Seniors to Call on Congress to Save Physician Hospitals’ Quality Care for Medicare Patients

WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today RetireSafe, representing 400,000 senior citizen supporters across America, urged seniors nationwide to call on Congress to save high-quality physi...

Security environment more difficult: Narayanan (Central Chronicle)

Agencies Kolkata, Mar. 10 The security environment in West Bengal has become more difficult than the past year and meeting the challenge would require, among other things, filling vacancies in the police force, improving the police-population ratio, acquiring more sophisticated weapons, imparting better training and providing more incentives for working in difficult areas, Governor M.K ...

INSPIRED SELECTION LTD: Managing Editor

Competitive salary, details on request: INSPIRED SELECTION LTD
For more Media jobs and jobs in Central London visit Guardian Jobs

Tnxman307: Reverted to revision 348543157 by Tnxman307; wikipedia does not host medical advice. Using Twinkle

Reverted to revision 348543157 by Tnxman307; wikipedia does not host medical advice. Using Twinkle

? Previous revision		Revision as of 15:37, 10 March 2010
Line 228:		Line 228:
	=== Multimodality Therapy ===		=== Multimodality Therapy ===

-	All of the standard approaches to treating solid tumors--radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery--have been investigated in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Although surgery, by itself, is ineffective, surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation (trimodality therapy) has produced significant survival extension (3-14 years) in a subset of patients with favorable prognostic factors (Sugarbaker, 1999). Reducing the bulk of the tumor with cytoreductive surgery is key to extending survival. Two surgeries have been developed: extrapleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy/decortication. There is a common misperception that these operations are interchangeable. In fact, the selection of operation for a particular patient depends on the size of the patient's tumor. This is an important consideration, because tumor volume has been linked with survival (Pass, 1998). Pleurectomy/decortication, which spares the underlying lung, may improve survival, but should only be performed in patients with early stage disease with the intention of removing all gross visible tumor (macroscopic complete resection), not simply for palliation (Sugarbaker, 2006). For more bulky, advanced stage tumors, however, sparing the lung at the expense of cytoreduction is not recommended, provided that the patient can tolerate pneumonectomy. In this circumstance, an extrapleural pneumonectomy should be performed (Sugarbaker, 2004). This is a more extensive operation that involves resection of the parietal and visceral pleurae, underlying lung, ipsilateral diaphragm, and ipsilateral pericardium.	+	All of the standard approaches to treating solid tumors--radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery--have been investigated in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Although surgery, by itself, is ineffective, surgery combined with adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation (trimodality therapy) has produced significant survival extension (3-14 years) among patients with favorable prognostic factors (Sugarbaker, 1999).

	==Notable people who died from mesothelioma==		==Notable people who died from mesothelioma==

Pain is an illness, love is a cure

Researchers trying to attack pain are stymied by a fundamental lack of understanding of pain mechanisms. Pain management is trial-and-error. Sean Mackey, who runs what he calls the "house of pain" at Stanford, is trying to understand pain by seeing how it can be derailed. In one recent study, he found that Stanford students who were madly in love were less susceptible to pain while looking at a picture of their beloved. Distraction is also about as effective as love at reducing pain.

America’s got talent—can it keep it?

To remain competitive in biotech, policymakers should pay more attention to retaining skilled foreign workers than to fixating on illegal immigration.

Genome-wide expression analysis of paired diagnosis–relapse samples in ALL indicates involvement of pathways related to DNA replication, cell cycle and DNA repair, independent of immune phenotype

Genome-wide expression analysis of paired diagnosis–relapse samples in ALL indicates involvement of pathways related to DNA replication, cell cycle and DNA repair, independent of immune phenotype Leukemia 24, 491 (...