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Health Policy 2019 Feb 7. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Interface Demography, Sociology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address:

While many public health threats are now widely appreciated by the public, the risks from asbestos exposure remain poorly understood, even in high-risk groups. This article makes the case that asbestos exposure is an important, ongoing global health threat, and argues for greater policy efforts to raise awareness of this threat. It also proposes the extension of asbestos bans to developing countries and increased public subsidies for asbestos testing and abatement. Read More

Curr Treat Options Oncol 2019 Feb 14;20(2):18. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd. Unit 432, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.

Opinion Statement: Recent advances in immunology have extended into the mesothelioma field. To date, only Japan has given regulatory approval to salvage nivolumab in chemo-refractory mesothelioma patients. The USA has included in the NCCN guidelines that pembrolizumab (in programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry (IHC)-positive patients) and nivolumab with or without ipilimumab (whatever the PD-L1 status is) are accepted salvage therapies. Read More

Cas Lek Cesk 2019 ;157(8):419-428

The tumors of the peritoneal surface, both primary and secondary, are associated with a very poor prognosis and rapid progression through conventional oncology treatment including systemic chemotherapy, targeted treatment, radiotherapy, surgery, and symptomatic treatment. Until recently, most of them were considered incurable. In the 1980s, the first cytoreductive surgery ("CRS") combined with intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemotherapy ("HIPEC") became the standard of treatment for selected tumor peritoneal tumor (pseudomyxoma peritonei and primary peritoneal malignant mesothelioma). Read More

BMC Res Notes 2019 Feb 11;12(1):77. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Institute for Prevention and Occupational Medicine of the German Social Accident Insurance, Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum (IPA), Buerkle-de-la-Camp-Platz 1, 44789, Bochum, Germany.

Objective: Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the serous membranes. For the detection of the tumor at early stages non- or minimally-invasive biomarkers are needed. The circulating biomarkers miR-132-3p, miR-126-3p, and miR-103a-3p were analyzed in a nested case-control study using plasma samples from 17 prediagnostic mesothelioma cases and 34 matched asbestos-exposed controls without a malignant disease. Read More

Arch Esp Urol 2019 Jan;72(1):85-88

Servicio de Urología. Hospital General Universitario de Valencia. Valencia. España.

Objective: Paratesticular mesothelioma isan infrequent tumor and only 250 cases have been published.It originates in the scrotal tunica vaginalis. It represents0. Read More

Eur J Radiol Open 2019 31;6:72-77. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.

Localized malignant pleural mesothelioma (LMPM) is an extremely rare tumor. We report the case of a 40-year-old Japanese male with an LMPM mimicking an anterior mediastinal tumor due to invasion to the anterior mediastinum, and we discuss mainly the differentiation of LMPM from an anterior mediastinal tumor. The present tumor had a long shape along the pleura, and LMPM could be one of the differential diagnoses. Read More

Br J Cancer 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Thoracic Oncology & CIC1425, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris-Diderot, Paris, France.

Background: The Mesothelioma Avastin Cisplatin Pemetrexed Study (MAPS/NCT00651456) phase 3 trial demonstrated the superiority of bevacizumab plus pemetrexed-cisplatin triplet over chemotherapy alone in 448 malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) patients. Here, we evaluated the prognostic role of Hippo pathway gene promoter methylation.

Methods: Promoter methylations were assayed using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction in samples from 223 MAPS patients, evaluating their prognostic value for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival in univariate and multivariate analyses. Read More

Cureus 2018 Nov 28;10(11):e3654. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Radiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, JPN.

Talc pleurodesis has been reported to increase fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the high attenuation areas of pleural thickening, making it difficult to distinguish between benign granulomatous inflammatory processes and malignancies, which may therefore interfere with the post-chemotherapy disease evaluation on FDG-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). We present two cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma treated with talc pleurodesis and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) before pleurectomy/decortication in which post-NAC FDG-PET/CT showed intense FDG uptakes in the high attenuation areas of pleural thickening with false positive result, whereas post-NAC C-choline PET/CT showed mild choline uptake of pleural talc deposit, which did not interfere with the post-chemotherapy disease evaluation. Thus we suggest choline-PET/CT may show little choline uptake to granulomatous inflammation and evaluate treatment response in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients treated with talc pleurodesis and NAC. Read More

SAGE Open Med Case Rep 2019 23;7:2050313X18824802. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Japan.

An 80-year-old male with previous workplace exposure to asbestos presented with a history of an increase in the pulmonary-to-hilar mass, measuring more than 50 mm in diameter, likely in the right lower lobe. We first interpreted it as suspicious of primary lung adenocarcinoma with direct invasion to the right hilar lymph node. A right middle and lower lobectomy with partial resection of upper lobe was performed, and gross examination showed a hilar tumor lesion, involving the middle/lower lobe to hilar lymph node and looking whitish to yellow-grayish, partly adjacent to the right pulmonary artery. Read More

Anticancer Res 2019 Feb;39(2):839-845

Department of Surgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

Background: Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPeM) is a rare type of cancer with a poor prognosis. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) have been shown to improve survival. Treatment and survival of patients with MPeM have not been previously studied in Finland. Read More

Anticancer Res 2019 Feb;39(2):627-633

Division of Pulmonary Medicine and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.

Background/aim: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive tumor with poor prognosis. The establishment of a new diagnostic and therapeutic approach for MM is expected. This study investigated the diagnostic significance of tenascin XB (TNXB) for MM. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Thoracic Oncology Unit, National Cancer Institute, Mexico City, Mexico.

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor, associated with poor prognosis. There is a lack of information about the clinical and pathological features related with survival in the Latin American population.

Methods: The MeSO-CLICaP registry identified 302 patients with advanced MPM diagnosed and treated between January 2008 and March 2016. Read More

ANZ J Surg 2019 Feb 1. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Urology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Am J Ind Med 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of GEMS, Health Studies Institute, Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

Background: Temporal trends and broad geographical distributions of asbestos use and the incidence of malignant mesothelioma (MM) in the US still need to be studied.

Methods: Data on asbestos consumption and production between 1900 and 2015 and MM mortality and incidence rates between 1975 and 2015 in the US were examined. Spatial distributions of MM mortality and incidence rates and their association with climate zone were analyzed. Read More

Respir Med Case Rep 2019 14;26:185-188. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

University of Pittsburgh USA.

Sudden cardiac death is an unexpected clinical condition that typically occurs due to a cardiac cause, generally within 1 h of symptom onset, in people with known or unknown cardiac disease. Primary malignant pericardial mesothelioma, as a cause of sudden death, is an uncommon consequence of a rare disease. Herein, we present a case of cardiac tamponade due to a primary pericardial mesothelioma. Read More

Respir Med 2019 Feb 18;147:72-75. Epub 2019 Jan 18.

Pneumology Department, CHU Liège, Domaine Universitaire du Sart-Tilman, B35, B4000, Liège Belgium.

Probe based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) is a new optical endoscopic technique, generating fluorescent light emission from the tissue of interest and allowing in vivo live imaging at a cellular level ("optical biopsies"). To the best of our knowledge, this article is the first to present pCLE images during medical thoracoscopy. We present here 3 different patients referred for various health problems. Read More

BMC Cancer 2019 Jan 30;19(1):108. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a tumour arising from pleural cavities with poor prognosis. Multimodality treatment with pemetrexed combined with cisplatin shows unsatisfying response-rates of 40%. The reasons for the rather poor efficacy of chemotherapeutic treatment are largely unknown. Read More

J Surg Case Rep 2019 Jan 24;2019(1):rjy361. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Department of Histopathology, PathLinks, Lincoln County Hospital, Greetwell Road, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK.

Benign multicystic mesothelioma is an extremely rare neoplasm usually arising from the visceral mesothelium of the peritoneal cavity typically presenting in young to middle-aged women. It has been deemed an indolent tumour with a possible heritable nature, but also a possible reactive neoplasm secondary to trauma. Diagnosis relies on identifying characteristic histology of cysts separated by loose connective tissue stroma and lined by pale, flat or cuboidal mesothelial cells. Read More

Iran J Pathol 2018 17;13(2):196-204. Epub 2018 Jul 17.

Registrar Pathology, Apollo Hospitals, Bangalore, Bangalore, India.

Background & Objective: Primary pleural neoplasms are rare entities compared with the pleural involvement by metastatic carcinoma.The current study aimed at investigating the complete spectrum of pleural neoplasms and differentiating between them with the aid of immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Methods: Consecutive pleural biopsy specimens positive for a neoplasm, both primary and metastatic, were included in the study. Read More

J Med Internet Res 2019 Jan 29;21(1):e10677. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.

Background: Cancer poses a serious threat to the health of Chinese people, resulting in a major challenge for public health work. Today, people can obtain relevant information from not only medical workers in hospitals, but also the internet in any place in real-time. Search behaviors can reflect a population's awareness of cancer from a completely new perspective, which could be driven by the underlying cancer epidemiology. Read More

Cancer Sci 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Laboratory of Veterinary Clinical Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, The Republic of Korea.

Metformin, a drug for type 2 diabetes mellitus, has shown therapeutic effects for various cancers. However, it had no beneficial effects on survival rate of human malignant mesothelioma (HMM) patients. This study was performed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of metformin resistance in HMM cells. Read More

Eur Radiol 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA.

Objective: This study was conducted in order to describe the computed tomography (CT) features of local pleural recurrence in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma undergoing intensity-modulated pleural radiation therapy (IMPRINT) as part of multimodality treatment.

Methods: In this observational study, 58 patients treated with IMPRINT between September 21, 2004, and December 1, 2014 were included. Baseline and follow-up CT scans were qualitatively assessed. Read More

BMJ Open Respir Res 2019 5;6(1):e000368. Epub 2019 Jan 5.

Papworth Trials Unit Collaboration, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.

Introduction: One of the most debilitating symptoms of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is dyspnoea caused by pleural effusion. MPM can be complicated by the presence of tumour on the visceral pleura preventing the lung from re-expanding, known as trapped lung (TL). There is currently no consensus on the best way to manage TL. Read More

Rev Mal Respir 2019 Jan 24. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Centre François-Baclesse, avenue du Général-Harris, 14076 Caen cedex 5, France.

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare tumour, usually the result of asbestos exposure. Several cases of familial aggregation have been reported and recently shown to be associated with constitutional mutations of the BAP1 gene. BAP1 is a deubiquitinating enzyme implicated in several different cellular mechanisms such as the repair or differentiation of DNA. Read More

Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019 Mar 23;510(2):198-204. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Centre for Inflammation and Tissue Repair, Rayne Institute, Department of Medicine, University College London, London, UK; Institute for Respiratory Health, Centre for Respiratory Health, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia; Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address:

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive fibrous tumor, predominantly of the pleura, with a very poor prognosis. Cell-matrix interactions are recognized important determinants of tumor growth and invasiveness but the role of the extracellular matrix in mesothelioma is unknown. Mesothelioma cells synthesize collagen as well as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), a key regulator of collagen production. Read More

Support Care Cancer 2019 Jan 25. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-Based Decision-Making, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.

Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has a poor prognosis and heavy symptom burden. Here, we investigate health professionals' attitudes to management and decision-making in people with MPM.

Methods: Survey questions were based on previous interviews with health professionals, MPM patients, and caregivers. Read More

Ecancermedicalscience 2018 12;12:881. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Oncology Department, University Hospital Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer characterised by modest sensitivity to systemic chemotherapy. The standard treatment remains platinum-based chemotherapy with pemetrexed. Recently, the addition of an antiangiogenic drug, bevacizumab, to first-line chemotherapy has been shown to improve overall survival. Read More

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2019 Jan 25;20(1):243-248. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Department of Comprehensive Pathology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Email:

Background: Pathology and laboratory medicine (PALM) services are limited in low-resource countries, such as Lao PDR. Patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) are not properly diagnosed and treated in these situations. The purpose of this study is to confirm the usefulness of immunocytochemistry in MPE to identify the histological type and probable primary site of cancer of MPE and to discuss its usefulness in low-resource countries, such as Laos. Read More

Oncol Lett 2019 Feb 26;17(2):1483-1490. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Department of Blood Transfusion, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a rare but aggressive cancer. The definitive diagnosis of MM is critical for effective treatment and has important medicolegal significance. However, the definitive diagnosis of MM is challenging due to its composite epithelial/mesenchymal pattern. Read More

Respir Med Case Rep 2019 4;26:174-175. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Division of Thoracic Surgery, Shizuoka City Shizuoka Hospital, Ohtemachi, 10-93, Aoi-ku, 420-8630, Shizuoka, Japan.

Treatment of post-extrapleural pneumonectomy empyema (PEPPE) is more difficult than that for post-pneumonectomy empyema for two reasons: first, a large infectious dead space remains after extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP); and second, defects of the pericardium and diaphragm are reconstructed with artificial materials, which ideally should be removed for treatment of infection. Here, we report the case of a 56-year-old male with PEPPE that occurred long after EPP for mesothelioma. The patient was treated successfully by minimally invasive procedures of irrigation, instillation of urokinase and antibiotics, and surgical debridement without peeling off artificial materials. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Jan 19;20(2). Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.

Malignant mesothelioma (MMe) is a cancer with poor prognosis and resistance to standard treatments. Recent reports have highlighted the role of the () in the development of MMe. In this study, the chemosensitivity of human mesothelioma cell lines carrying wild-type (WT), mutant and silenced was analysed. Read More

Urology 2019 Jan 19. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Institute of Urology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA; USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Electronic address:

Objectives: To characterize demographic features, clinical characteristics, and oncologic outcomes of mesothelioma of the testis.

Methods: A population based search was performed using the National Cancer Institute's SEER 18 database. Patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma of the male genital organs from 1973 to 2015 were identified. Read More

Nutr Cancer 2019 Jan 20:1-11. Epub 2019 Jan 20.

a Department of Gastroenterology , Cangzhou Central Hospital , Cangzhou , Hebei , China.

Objective: To investigate the relationships between the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score and ascites fluid lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, and prognosis in patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPeM).

Methods: A total of 125 patients with MPeM were selected for the study using a pathological screening method. Once the diagnosis is established, before the treatment their clinical characteristics and nutritional evaluations were recorded including CONUT score and ascites LDH level. Read More

Thorax 2019 Jan 19. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Department of Respiratory, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK.

Purpose: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has a high symptom burden and poor survival. Evidence from other cancer types suggests some benefit in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with early specialist palliative care (SPC) integrated with oncological services, but the certainty of evidence is low.

Methods: We performed a multicentre, randomised, parallel group controlled trial comparing early referral to SPC versus standard care across 19 hospital sites in the UK and one large site in Western Australia. Read More

Lancet Oncol 2019 Feb 16;20(2):239-253. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

University Hospital Bichat Claude Bernard, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris-Diderot University Paris, Paris, France.

Background: There is no recommended therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma that has progressed after first-line pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy. Disease control has been less than 30% in all previous studies of second-line drugs. Preliminary results have suggested that anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody could be efficacious in these patients. Read More

Lancet Respir Med 2019 Jan 16. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

Department of Thoracic Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Background: Single-drug checkpoint inhibition has shown efficacy in patients with recurrent malignant pleural mesothelioma. Here, we assessed the safety and efficacy of the combination of nivolumab, an anti-programmed cell death 1 antibody, plus ipilimumab, an anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte protein 4 antibody, in patients with previously treated and relapsed malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Methods: INITIATE was a prospective single-centre, single arm, phase 2 trial. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 Feb 18;116(6):2226-2231. Epub 2019 Jan 18.

Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy;

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive malignancy associated with exposure to asbestos, with poor prognosis and no effective therapies. The strong inhibitory activities of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) antagonists have been demonstrated in different experimental human cancers, including lung cancer; however, their role in MPM remains unknown. We assessed the effects of the GHRH antagonists MIA-602 and MIA-690 in vitro in MPM cell lines and in primary MPM cells, and in vivo in MPM xenografts. Read More

Pract Radiat Oncol 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Electronic address:

Introduction: We aimed to determine dose-volume constraints that correlate with severe (grade ≥3) radiation pneumonitis (RP) in patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), treated using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT).

Methods: Data from 40 patients with MPM who underwent pleurectomy decortication (P/D) and adjuvant radiation therapy at our institution between December 2010 and October 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Dosimetric variables for the absolute volume as well as percentage volume of the ipsilateral lung, contralateral lung and heart were recorded. Read More

Oncogene 2019 Jan 16. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

Laboratory of Tumour and Development Biology, GIGA-cancer, Liège University, Avenue Hippocrate 13, 4000, Liège, Belgium.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer with limited therapeutic options and treatment efficiency. Even if the latency period between asbestos exposure, the main risk factor, and mesothelioma development is very long, the local invasion of mesothelioma is very rapid leading to a mean survival of one year after diagnosis. ADAM10 (A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease) sheddase targets membrane-bound substrates and its overexpression is associated with progression in several cancers. Read More

Carcinogenesis 2019 Jan 10. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Institute for Translational Epidemiology and Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare disease with a very poor prognosis. Previous studies have indicated that women experience longer survival compared to men. We analyzed 16,267 eligible patients (21. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2019 Jan 14;12(1). Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Respiratory Medicine, Otemae Hospital, Osaka, Japan.

Lung Cancer 2019 Jan 26;127:69-75. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave, Chicago, IL, USA.

The pathologist plays a central role in the diagnosis and management of malignant mesothelioma, including definitive tissue-based diagnosis in conjunction with clinical and radiographic data; diverse ancillary studies of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive importance; and research efforts to better define the pathobiology of mesothelioma and develop novel clinical applications. The pivotal role of pathology in care of mesothelioma patients was on display at the recent meeting of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig) in Ottawa, Canada. This review summarizes the key findings of the "Molecular Pathways and Diagnosis in Malignant Mesothelioma" plenary session, including a large multi-institutional validation of a composite nuclear grading system for pleural mesothelioma, including incorporation of tumor necrosis as an additional independent prognostic factor; the correlation between nuclear grading in small biopsies and paired resection specimens in pleural mesothelioma; a multi-institutional study of important clinical and pathologic prognostic factors in peritoneal mesothelioma; the diagnostic role of HEG1 immunohistochemistry as a highly sensitive and specific marker of mesothelial lineage; the prevalence and diagnostic significance of MET protein overexpression in mesothelioma, as well as the correlation between MET protein overexpression and MET gene amplification; and the prognostic role of EZH2 protein overexpression in mesothelioma, together with data indicating an important pathogenic role for EZH2 in mesothelioma tumorigenesis. Read More

Lung Cancer 2019 Jan 29;127:138-145. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Latner Thoracic Surgery Laboratories, Division of Thoracic Surgery and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (UHN), Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address:

Here we summarize the most recent update of mesothelioma research in basic science presented at the 14 iMig2018 international conference. The symposium of basic science track mainly focused on the drivers of mesothelioma initiation and progression, molecular pathogenesis, and perspectives on potential therapeutic approaches. This review covers several promising fields including strategies efficiently inhibiting YAP/TAZ functions or their critical downstream targets, heparanase inhibitors, RAN depletion, and MIF/CD74 inhibitors that may be developed as novel therapeutic approaches. Read More

Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 2019 Jan 11. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Institute of Pathology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) can show areas closely mimicking reactive mesothelial proliferations or recapitulating benign adenomatoid tumors (ATs) making distinction on occasion impossible on morphologic ground alone, particularly in limited biopsy material. Recently, loss of BAP1 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been suggested as a potential marker for identifying MM, but data is still limited. We studied 264 MM cases (257 using tissue microarrays; 7 on conventional slides) and 42 genital ATs for BAP1 immunohistochemical expression. Read More

Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2019 Jan 10. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan.

We compared less invasive surgery with conventional surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients with MPM who received surgery at Hyogo College of Medicine between July 2004 and April 2016. Patients underwent multimodal treatment comprising chemotherapy (neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant) and surgery with or without 54 Gy hemithoracic radiotherapy. Read More

Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2019 Jan 12. Epub 2019 Jan 12.

Second Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1-1 Iseigaoka Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555, Japan.

We report the case of a 56-year-old woman who underwent pleural biopsy to identify the cause of the right pleural effusion. The pathological diagnosis was epithelial malignant pleural mesothelioma. The patient worked as a junior high school teacher and strongly hoped for continuing work. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Nov;10(Suppl 33):S4038-S4039

KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Department of Oncology, Laboratory of Experimental Radiotherapy, Leuven, Belgium.

Oncotarget 2018 Dec 7;9(96):36830-36832. Epub 2018 Dec 7.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Langone Medical Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA.

Malignant mesothelioma is a highly aggressive form of cancer with poor prognosis due to lack of markers for early diagnosis and resistance to conventional therapies. Heparanase, the sole heparan sulfate (HS) degrading endoglycosidase, regulates multiple biological activities that enhance tumor growth, metastasis, angiogenesis, and inflammation. Heparanase accomplishes this by degrading HS and thereby facilitating cell invasion and regulating the bioavailability of heparin-binding proteins. Read More

Front Oncol 2018 21;8:650. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics, the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and aggressive tumor with a variable incidence among different countries. Occupational asbestos exposure is the most important etiological factor and a very long latency period is widely reported. In the early phase of the disease, clinical signs are absent or not specific. Read More

Eur Radiol 2019 Jan 7. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

Department of Radiology, The University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.

Objectives: To evaluate differences in the tumor response classifications that result from clinical measurements and to compare these response classifications with overall survival for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Methods: One hundred thirty-one computed tomography (CT) scans were collected from 41 MPM patients enrolled in a clinical trial. Primary measurements had been acquired by clinical radiologists at a single center during routine clinical workflow, and the variability of these measurements was investigated. Read More