Mesothelioma Treatment

Archive for 2012

Despite being a distant disease onset, it was not until 2006 when mesothelioma was recognized as an occupational disease because, as with other diseases, the relationship between cause and the result could not be understood until many years. Lawyers for Oria, Pena, Pajares & Associates, as experts in claims for mesothelioma patients, want to understand how this disease was identified as responsible companies sometimes unaware of the dangers of asbestos. Today, these loosely lawyers know the relationship: exposure to asbestos is the only cause of mesothelioma cancer, a disease that destroys the lungs and other organs and in Spain until 2030 kill between 40,000 and 60,000 workers

Any help for the first victims
There were no lawyers for the first victims of mesothelioma. Originating victims that were recorded at the beginning of last century when the British factory workers began the numbers of cancer progression increased more than in other sectors. These victims were alone at a disease of which little more than his name was known and was first recorded in 1906 and whose first two victims were British workers who were exposed to asbestos.

Gradually increasing the workers who joined the extraction and production of asbestos, and therefore those who have illnesses affecting the lungs. In 1930 the British government published a study that found what could be an apparent connection between asbestosis and occupational exposure to asbestos.

In the following decades, asbestos workers continued to develop lung cancer, but the consumption of snuff also increased, it was difficult to determine what was causing cancer. Cause on the lawyers today have no doubt, as it is more than evident that asbestos was responsible for a large number of deaths and the industry of this material closed his eyes to the undeniable risk of death.

Lawyers for Oria, Penna, Pajares & Associates know that exposure to asbestos is responsible only for what is now known as mesothelioma and many of the producers knew full well the danger to workers involved working with it.

The attorneys are available
The lawyers of Oria, Pena, Pajares & Associates provide unconditional support to victims of mesothelioma, many of which were exposed to asbestos without even knowing it. Lawyers such claims can explain your rights and give advice those professionals so hard at this stage you will require.

What is it?
Genes are fragments of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of a chromosome, which contain information which allows the synthesis of proteins and, through them, the operation of each of the cells of an organism.

Gene therapy can be defined as a therapeutic technique in which is inserted a functional gene into cells of a human patient to correct a genetic defect that causes a disease.

What are the objectives?
Although at first was a technique referred to treat genetic diseases, currently proposed for almost any disease, being a mechanism of the most promising. Among the objectives of gene therapy can include:

Seek to complement or replace a defective gene by introducing another copy of it in normal cells.

Inhibit or block the operation of those genes whose action contributes to the development of disease (eg, oncogenes).
Introducing genetic material to allow the cell to synthesize a protein having a new therapeutic effect (eg copy introduced into cells of a gene that hinders the replication of a virus).
What is the methodology?

Gene therapy can be carried out by three different methods:
Ex vivo , when the genetic defect correction is performed in the laboratory on cells extracted from the patient which are then repaid within the body. It is noteworthy that in this method the cells must be strong enough to withstand handling, which may be extracted from the human body and reintroduced into it easily, and it is desirable to have a long half life. Cells from bone marrow, skin and liver are the most promising candidates for this methodology.
In situ by introducing the gene directly into the body of the individual defective.

In vivo, when you get the gene into the defective cells.
What are the tools?

The introduction of the normal gene in human cells can be carried out with two main tools: viral vectors and nonviral vectors. In both cases the objective is that the genetic material to enter cells in sufficient quantity and, moreover, maintain its integrity.

Viral Vectors : Based on that viruses are, schematically, a genetic material endowed with mechanisms to effectively enter the cells and multiply within them. To construct a viral vector must be disposed of genes that allow the virus to multiply and replace the therapeutic gene, maintaining efficacy of the virus to enter cells. In general, these vectors have high transformation efficiency but low specificity of tissue (infect any cell having receptors for the virus used).
Non-viral vectors : are generally highly specific but transformation efficiency is low. Within this group is transferable DNA, lipocationes, etc.. We have also developed hybrid methods that combine transfer tools.
So far, most gene therapy strategies, mostly in cancer have been shown to be well tolerated. Are points to improve the efficiency of transfer of genetic material and expression thereof in the cell.

What diseases can be treated by gene therapy?

In addition to genetic diseases themselves, gene therapy is being applied experimentally to treat cancer (for tumors that have no effective treatment or where conventional treatment has failed), the AIDS (associated with antiviral treatment) and other diseases.
What is the status of gene therapy now? Is it safe?

Current research is looking to find vectors with high specificity for the target cell, not recognizable by the immune system of the patient, stable, are easily produced, which do not produce inflammation, which express the gene for the time necessary and appropriate regulation, besides being safe for the environment.

Since 1990 the first patient was treated more than 4,000 people have received some form of gene therapy, spread over a large number of clinical trials and against many diseases. In most clinical trials have been conducted there has been no significant toxicity problems associated with gene transfer. In some cases one can speak of partial treatment success, although it has been in recent years when it has actually described the early results encouraging.

Never thought it would take so much. When 15 years ago THE WORLD interviewed Dr. Marck Kay, he was convinced that gene therapy for hemophilia was just around the corner.

However, it has taken fifteen years since then to Kay, current director of Human Gene Therapy Program at Stanford University in California, see reflected its signing by the authors thirty responsible for the work that the ‘New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) ‘ released in your area online yesterday.

A large group of scientists led by Dr. Amit Nathwami, University Collegue London Cancer Institute have shown that gene therapy can be effective in patients with variant B of the disease. Although the study were treated only six patients , the results have been so emphatic and so ingenious techniques used variants and safer than what is considered the best medical journal in the world has advanced online publication on paper, given the importance of trial.

A single injection

Because it has also suffice a single intravenous injection of several million genetically modified adenovirus -introducing them the coagulation factor IX-so that those will be fixed in the liver and there to express the protein absent in hemophilia type B.

It is precisely this lack that requires them to have to inject regularly and lifetime factor IX. Otherwise, die prematurely from hemorrhage. Read the rest of this entry »

Part of a series of two wives with briefly outside their wrists while facing a judge, Miguel Canto-Ortiz wore the brand of a detainee: a bright orange shirt from jail in Santa Ana but Unlike thousands of others who have gone through this courtroom, Canto-Ortiz was a man without a lawyer. In the back of his shaved head is a scar from a traumatic brain injury that made ??him unable to read, write or even remember your birthday. was the deportation hearing of Canto-Ortiz and the Immigration Judge David C. Anderson evaluated his mental condition.

The judge asked the prisoner of 51 years if he could explain what type of courtroom was. “Too many problems in my head, I can not say anything,” murmured Canto-Ortiz in Spanish. For the legal system and lawyers the rights of immigrants, their case is a frustrating problem that has no simple answer: illegal immigrants with serious mental illnesses, many with no criminal record, have been trapped in detention in the United States without lawyers. “These are people who are detained for years without understanding what is happening, “said Talia Inlender, attorney for Public Counsel, a pro bono law firm representing several plaintiffs in a class action on behalf of mentally ill prisoners in California, Arizona and Washington. “They have mental disabilities such an extent that can not participate in their own procedures of forced relocation.” On average, the government maintains over 30,000 illegal immigrants detained on any given day.

Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) do not know how many of them suffer from mental disabilities, but the class action lawyers estimate that about 1,000 immigration detainees have a “serious mental illness.” In January 2011, Inlender and a group of pro bono law firms identified Canto-Ortiz, who was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. as a child, as a possible claimant to the lawsuit filed last year. This is the first class action on behalf of prisoners with serious mental illness who go through the immigration courts without access to lawyers. The lawsuit claims that by denying the detainees with severe mental illness have the right to appointed lawyers court, the government has denied rights of due process and violated federal laws against discrimination.

The Immigration and Nationality Act gives non-citizens the privilege of representation, but not at government expense. On December 20, Judge Dolly Gee’s Court Central District of California granted class action status. The judge concluded that there is no mechanism to assess whether the detainees with mental disabilities can represent themselves. Government representatives made ??no comment on the lawsuit. But at a hearing in Los Angeles in April last year, Victor M. Lawrence, deputy chief of the Office of Immigration Litigation, Department of Justice, argued that the plaintiffs had not proved “that there was a significant number of people that could be damaged.” The demand came as a result of the case of Jose Franco-Gonzalez, a man with mental illness who pleaded guilty to assault and was arrested in 2005.

An immigration judge closed his deportation case because Franco-Gonzalez did not have a lawyer and was mentally incompetent to represent himself. But the man remained in custody. Over the years he was arrested, Franco-Gonzalez had no hearings. In March 2010, after the ACLU and Public Counsel filed a petition for his release, a judge freed Franco-Gonzalez. For over a year, electronically monitored. Is now receiving intensive mental health services while waiting for your next immigration hearing. pro bono attorneys added more applicants with mental illness to their class action, are now eight people who are on demand. Some of them are illegal immigrants, others are refugees or permanent residents whose legal status was revoked due to felony convictions. In the past two years, Human Rights Watch and Texas Appleseed, a center for public interest law, published reports identify the lack of safeguards for detainees with mental illness and point to cases in which even American citizens were deported by mistake. In May, with the recommendations of the American Council for Immigration and other advocacy groups, the Board of Immigration Appeals has drawn up guidelines for dealing with mentally ill prisoners.

The guidelines state that a detainee is mentally competent person who understands the nature of your case, consult with an attorney or representative and may assess adverse evidence, present evidence and question witnesses in favor of the government. The board also stated that the Department National Security is required to provide immigration judges to any relevant material concerning the mental capacity of an immigrant. But advocacy groups and lawyers are pushing for a formal process that would include advice and specific rules. First, the Board of Immigration Appeals did not address the “lack of experience in conducting evaluations of competence” of immigration judges, indicating a statement of the American Board of Immigration. The board also recommended to appoint attorneys for the mentally incapable.

Gene therapy is a technique of repairing defective genes to cure the patients, which requires that the disease is linked to a very specific gene. To do this, you typically use viruses as a transport vehicle in which you enter the healthy gene and a kind of controlled infection, the organism transferred genetic material into cells and corrects the genetic defect that causes the disease.

This technique has a problem, as noted Ignacio Varela, the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria (IBBTEC). This mechanism not only enter the corrected gene segment, but can transfer the virus DNA residues in the body whose effects are unknown and can be dangerous.

A new technique, published yesterday in Nature , has managed to correct a genetic mutation that causes liver cirrhosis and pulmonary emphysema without leaving any secondary changes, which solves the problem posed by the use of genetically modified virus unwanted. So far, this method has been tested in human stem cells, so it does not have applications in patients. But its proponents, after checking their therapeutic efficacy in mice, and work in future human clinical trial.

The research team that developed this work is led by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge , and has enjoyed the cooperation of IBBTEC of Cantabria. The researchers used iPS stem cells (those capable of becoming any cell line obtained from adult tissues such as hair or skin) of patients with a mutation in a gene active in the liver responsible for generating a protein that protects the body against excessive inflammation. People with this gene-alpha-1-antitrypsin, can not eject properly altered protein, so it gets trapped in the liver and generates long-term liver cirrhosis and pulmonary emphysema.

The technique described in Nature has managed to replace the defective gene by another in a clean healthy stem cells through a complex molecular engineering procedure. In this case, the vehicle used to transfer the good gene was based on a protein (called zinc fingers jargon or zinc fingers) that are responsible for segmentation in the right place double-stranded DNA to introduce the genetic repair . Molecular scissors in a first step introduces the gene and its carrier (the vector, or vehicle by being inserted into the genome, in this case, called piggyBac). In a next step, through the use of enzymes, the carrier is removed so that only the genetic load is healthy. The work of finding that, once the entire process, no waste of any kind of genetic contamination was given by IBBTEC through mass sequencing teams.

Scientists became modified stem cells in adult liver cells a copy of the gene is activated correctly and properly generated the protein alpha-1-antitrypsin. This was found in both human cells in the test tube as in experiments in mice. The intention is, in future, be able to cultivate these healthy cells and transfer to the liver so that it can cure patients suffering from this genetic alteration.

“Our systems leave no trace of genetic manipulation, except for the corrected gene. We are at an early stage of development, but if this technology can be transferred to the clinic will offer great benefits to patients,” said Ludovic Vallier, researcher department of surgery at the University of Cambridge. This scientist warns that there are still “major obstacles to be resolved” before there can be an application to patients, “but now we have the tools necessary for further progress towards this goal.”

The prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men after skin cancer and the second leading cause of death in men, behind lung cancer.

Scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine, United States, are developing a pioneering study to fight prostate cancer. The study involves injecting a gene directly RTVP-1 in prostate tumors of patients with prostate cancer. Scientists believe that injecting the gene RTVP-1 in prostate tumors will be attracted to the p53 tumor suppressor gene (a gene that causes tumors to grow) and thus hinder the development of prostate cancer.

Currently open enrollment period for patients who wish to participate in the study. The requirements are being diagnosed with prostate cancer at 7 or higher on the Gleason scale, or have levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA acronym in English) over 10ng/ml in blood. Anyone interested can contact the +00.1.713.798.4895 phone, where you can request more information or interested in participating in the study.

While we wait with hope an effective therapy for prostate cancer, we recommend a regular checkup with the urologist to detect time any prostate tumor. Some signs of prostate tumor growth are:

1) Difficulty starting or end of urination
2) reduced force of urine stream
3) Leakage at the end of urination
4) painful or burning urination
5) Painful ejaculation
6) Blood in the urine
7) Inability to urinate and continuous pain in the lower back, pelvis, or upper thigh area

Scientists at the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra have developed a gene therapy technique improves outcome for colon cancer with liver metastases. “Our study confirms that the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy enhances the antitumor effect in animal models,” say the doctors Jesús Prieto and Ruben Hernandez, responsible for the work.

Colon cancer has a very pronounced tendency to spread to the liver. Specifically, more than half of patients have liver metastases, which severely limit their options for healing. Where very early metastasis may be removed by surgery, but in most patients this is not possible or metastases reappear after a while. In these cases chemotherapy is the only alternative, although its long-term efficacy is limited.
Oxaliplatin is an essential component of chemotherapy used in colon cancer, particularly in patients with liver metastases. However, there is the possibility of recurrence of the disease, because cancer cells resist chemotherapy. “It has long been investigating the antitumor effects of interleukin 12 (IL-12), a natural stimulator of the immune system that defends the individual eliminating malignant cells. But the administration of high doses intravenously is toxic. In this study we used a gene therapy vector to achieve the production of IL-12 within the liver itself in a sustained and controlled. ” Clinical application study performed at the CIMA of the University of Navarra has shown that the combination of IL-12 plus oxaliplatin exerts an antitumor effect superior to that obtained with these molecules separately. According to Drs Prieto and Hernandez, “This is because not only damages oxaliplatin tumor cells but also destroys the immune suppressor cells that are present within the tumor, thereby allowing a greater effect of IL-12. Furthermore, this combined treatment eliminates pre-existing metastases to the liver and protects against possible relapses. The results obtained in animal models confirm that it is an extremely promising therapeutic modality could be effective in patients with metastatic colon tumors in the liver.

Currently, the researchers’ work focuses on improving mechanisms to produce gene therapy vectors yield and purity compatible with clinical use. “While we intend to validate these results in other experimental models to predict what the effect would be possible in humans.”

Symptoms

The first symptoms of mesothelioma do not have a specific nature and can delay diagnosis. In general, dyspnea, chest pain and coughing are common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma, but in some cases, may not be strong enough to force the patient to seek medical help. Some patients complain of pain in the scapula or in the back. These symptoms occur most often 2-3 months before a confirmed diagnosis. In peritoneal mesothelioma, the most common symptoms are abdominal pain, bloating, nausea or vomiting, bowel obstruction and weight loss. Importantly, these symptoms are not unique to mesothelioma and also may be symptoms of other diseases. It is always suggested the evaluation of a qualified physician.

As mesothelioma progresses, pleural effusion (fluid between the two pleural layers) occurs in 95% of patients and this is the symptom that finally leads patients to see their GP. During this visit, performing a chest radiograph can confirm the spill. At this time could also observe a thickening of the pleura. If the doctor suspects the possibility of cancer, it may refer the patient to a hospital specialist who specializes in lung cancer and mesothelioma.

When your doctor recommends consulting a specialist, you should receive the following information:
- Where he is referring.
- When you schedule the appointment.
- Who will see.
- What tests will be.
- How soon will the results of the tests.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ( National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ) has developed the following general guidelines for referring patients to specialists for suspected cancer cases, effective from June 2005. These guidelines may not apply to everyone and you should always discuss the details of your case with your medical team, so he can play a proactive role in their treatment and care you receive.

Your doctor will perform an assessment of urgency and will be based on the following criteria:

- Referral to a specialist immediately: The patient needs to be seen in a few hours.
- Referral to specialist urgent: The patient will be seen within two weeks.
- Non-urgent: The rest of the recommendations of patients to specialists.

Once the emergency is determined, your doctor will send all the information about your case to a specialist clinic for evaluation.

Diagnosis The diagnosis of mesothelioma is obtained mainly through careful evaluation of clinical and radiological findings, and a tissue biopsy to confirm it. Here are some of the tests your specialist may recommend and value in the diagnosis and evaluation of mesothelioma.

Computerized tomography (CT)

The CT scanner is able to define pleural effusion, and thickening and calcification of the pleura, thickening of interlobular fissures, or possible chest wall invasion. However, CT is not able to distinguish between changes associated with benign asbestos disease or differentiate between lung adenocarcinoma and mesothelioma. The TC may also be valuable in guiding fine needle aspiration of pleural masses for tissue diagnosis. This test usually lasts 10-30 minutes, but can vary depending on the patient.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

MRI is used primarily to determine the extent of tumor prior to aggressive treatment. Because it provides images in multiple planes, is able to better identify tumors compared to normal structures. It is also more accurate than CT in evaluating enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes that are between the two lungs, and to obtain a clear diaphragmatic surface. Both play an important role in surgical candidacy. An MRI scan usually takes 20-40 minutes but can vary depending on the patient.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

PET is becoming an important part of diagnosis and evaluation of mesothelioma. PET is considered the most diagnostic evidence of tumor sites, and how best to determine the stage of mesothelioma. Since the TEP is relatively new and may not be available in all centers, may be necessary to move to a specialized center that will have them available.

Fluid analysis

The analysis of pleural fluid for malignant cells is considered to have limited value in diagnosing mesothelioma. Diagnostic thoracentesis, in which cells are removed from the pleural cavity, is normally performed when the possibility of mesothelioma. Unfortunately, 85% of the tests readings fluids tested were negative or inconclusive. Even in the case of a positive fluid report, doctors may choose to perform a biopsy confirmation provided it is not detrimental to the health of the patient.

Analysis of tissue (biopsy)

In most cases, eventually performing a needle biopsy of the pleura or open surgical biopsy, giving a confirmed diagnosis of mesothelioma. In the pleural biopsy procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision through the chest wall and insert a small tube with light, called a thoracoscope into the chest between two ribs. Then take a sample of tissue for a pathologist to examine under a microscope. In a peritoneal biopsy, the surgeon makes a small incision in the abdomen and inserts a peritoneoscope into the abdominal cavity.

What is it?
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer diagnosed in about 3,000 people per year. The disease usually affects the thin membrane that lines the chest cavity (thorax) and lungs. This membrane is called the pleura. It can also affect the lining of the abdominal cavity, called the peritoneum and, rarely affects the lining of the heart called the pericardium.

In most cases the malignant mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, a natural mineral used in various industries. A small percentage of cases have been linked to exposure to silicate mineral called zeolite or a type of radiographic contrast dye, Thorotrast, used before 1960 to make the blood vessels can be visualized on radiographs. In a few cases, no known cause of malignant mesothelioma.
People exposed to asbestos for a long time or exposed to high levels of asbestos have a higher risk of developing malignant mesothelioma, but even those exposed for a short period can develop this disease, which appears at least 15 years (generally 20 to 40 years) after exposure to asbestos.

Usually the disease is diagnosed between 50 and 70. Men are more likely than women to suffer, because it is more likely that they have worked in industries that use asbestos.

There are three main types of malignant mesothelioma: epithelial, sarcomatoid and mixed. The epithelial type is the most common.

Symptoms
About 90% of people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma have chest pain or shortness of breath as initial symptoms of this disease. These symptoms may be caused by the cancer itself, which irritates the nerve cells in nearby tissues, or by the accumulation of fluids between two layers of the pleura and chest. This fluid buildup is called pleural effusion. Patients with mesothelioma develops in the abdominal lining can have abdominal pain and swelling caused by fluid buildup in the chest cavity. Other possible symptoms include cough, fatigue and weight loss.

Diagnosis
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history before examining. Usually medical testing is needed because the most common symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath may be due to other causes. These tests include an electrocardiogram (ECG), an abdominal radiograph or chest, depending on your symptoms and physical examination. If these tests show any abnormalities in the lungs and pleura, need to be a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These imaging studies allow the physician to determine the size and location of any tumor in the chest or abdomen.
If you have fluid in your chest or abdomen, may be necessary to use a thin needle to remove a small sample of fluid and examine it. This procedure, called fine needle aspiration, also may be used to drain fluid and relieve the symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath. Occasionally, mesothelioma can be diagnosed only with a liquid sample, however, usually also take a tissue sample (biopsy). The tissue sample can be obtained through thoracoscopy or a procedure called video-assisted thoracoscopy (TVA) in the case of a pleural tumor, or a laparoscopic procedure known in the case of abdominal tumor. In both interventions, it inserts a tube-like instrument through a small cut that allows the physician to see the tumor and collect a tissue sample. You might also need it to perform a procedure called bronchoscopy or mediastinoscopy for the doctor to detect tumor masses in the airways caused by other tumors, or you can take tissue samples from lymph nodes.

It also conducts blood tests for scientific research that might be associated with mesothelioma, and can aid in the diagnosis and treatment response. These are known as osteopontin and mesothelin and are available as part of clinical studies. Read the rest of this entry »

Pleural mesothelioma, also known as mesothelioma of the pleura, is a tumor in the tissues surrounding the lungs. The pleura is a thin layer of tissue that surrounds the lungs and lines the inside of the chest. In order to protect the lungs, the pleura produces a small amount of a coating fluid which helps the lungs causing more uniform movements during breathing.

Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma may include breathing problems, chest pains, back pains, pains in the ribs, fluid accumulation in the tissue lining the lungs, hoarseness, coughing up blood, swelling of the face and arms, muscle weakness, paralysis and sensory loss.

Pleural mesothelioma benign (not cancerous)
benign pleural mesothelioma is a noncancerous tumor that has spread to other body organs. If the tumor is large, could put pressure on the lungs and cause breathing problems and pain.

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is cancerous and can spread to other parts of the body. This rare form of cancer found in the pleural tissue of the lung. Exposure to asbestos is considered the primary cause of malignant pleural mesothelioma.