Mesothelioma guru

Vaccine for Mesothelioma Proven Safe!

2010-11-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

Researchers have demonstrated the safety of a potential vaccine against mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated primarily with asbestos exposure. The vaccine, which infuses a patient's own dendritic cells (DC) with antigen from the patient's tumor, was able to induce a T-cell response against mesothelioma tumors.

This is the first human study on DC-based immunotherapy in patients with mesothelioma," wrote Joachim G Aerts M.D., Ph.D., a pulmonary physician at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The findings have been published online ahead of print publication in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The U.S. and other developed countries have prohibited the use of asbestos for decades, but the time between asbestos exposure and diagnosis of mesothelioma can be up to 50 years. The incidence of mesothelioma, therefore, is still on the rise and expected to continue to increase until 2020. Once diagnosed, mesothelioma has a median survival time of 12 months. The standard chemotherapeutic treatment only improves survival time by about three months.

The anticipated increase in the incidence of mesothelioma, together with the paucity of treatment options, has spurred considerable interest in the development of new therapies. Immunotherapy, which uses the body's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells, has been shown to have some promise.
"The possibility to harness the potency and specificity of the immune system underlies the growing interest in cancer immunotherapy," said Dr. Aerts. "One such approach uses the patient's own DC to present tumor-associated antigens and thereby generate tumor-specific immunity."
Building upon their previous research which demonstrated that DC vaccinations induced anti-tumor immunity and conferred a survival benefit in mice, Dr. Aerts and colleagues sought to test the clinical relevance of their finding. After recruiting 10 human patients recently diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma of the epithelial subtype, they cultured immature DC from their blood and exposed the DC to the antigen produced by the patients' tumors. The DC were also exposed to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), which was used as a surrogate marker to show an immune response. The DC were then matured and injected back into the patients in three doses over a two-week interval.
Serum samples from all patients showed a significant increase of pre- versus post-vaccine antibodies to KLH. In the four patients whose tumor material was sufficient for testing, there was clear induction of cytotoxicity against their own tumors after vaccination. Three patients showed signs of tumor regression, though this could not be conclusively or directly attributed to the vaccine.
Encouragingly, while eight of the patients developed flu-like symptoms in response to the vaccinations, the symptoms normalized after one day in all but one of the patients. There were no signs of autoimmune diseases in the patients provoked by the vaccination, nor other serious side effects.
"The major problem in mesothelioma is that the immunosuppressive environment caused by the tumor will negatively influence our therapy so we are now working on a method to lower this immunosuppressive environment," said Dr. Aerts. "We hope that by further development of our method it will be possible to increase survival in patients with mesothelioma and eventually vaccinate persons who have been in contact with asbestos to prevent them from getting asbestos related diseases.

2010-11-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

The symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and the chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. The diagnosis may be suspected with chest X-Ray and CT scan, and is confirmed with a biopsy (tissue sample) and microscopic examination. A thorascopy (inserting a tube with a camera into the chest) can be used to take biopsies. It allows the introduction of substances such as talc to obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), which prevents more fluid from accumulating and pressing on the lung. Despite treatment with chermotherapy, Radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease carries a poor prognosis. Research about screening tests for the early detection of mesothelioma is ongoing. Symptoms or signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years (or more) after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space (Pleural effusion) are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma, CT scan coronal

Mesothelioma Lawyers San Diego

2010-11-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

Mesothelioma Lawyers in San Diego
To understand how to choose a lawyer for this disease, you should first understand the basics of the disease. In the simplest sense, mesothelioma is a cancer of the protective layers of the body cavities, known as the mesothelium.
These tissues have different names depending on the organs they protect. You have probably heard of the peritoneum–this is the covering around the stomach and intestines. Other organs and cavities have their own membranes as well.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of these tissues. They often do not just affect the tissues–they affect the organs they surround and can spread elsewhere. This cancer is most often contracted by exposure to asbestos, a highly dangerous mineral often found in floors, ceilings, and some products.

Employers and landlords are supposed to protect you from asbestos, but often this does not happen. If you have mesothelioma you have probably been exposed to asbestos. If so, you should contact mesotheloma attorneys in your area to see if you have a case against the party responsible for your exposure.

My Tower Ridge Experience (Ben Nevis)

2010-11-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

The picture above is me climbing into Tower Gap. Tower Gap is the hardest part of the climb (Tower Ridge). Mainly because of the 3000ft drop down either side of you and the fact that it is no wider than a car!

This shows a clear anitation of the North Face on Ben Nevis. Tower Ridge is the climb I did.

The cut out of the rock, near the cenre of the image is tower gap. I hope this gives you a good insight on just how exposed and and scary it was. But apart from the scariness, it was my favourite part of the climb. It is also the most famous part.

Bramble

2010-11-06T02:48:00.000-07:00

This is Titus Bramble. He plays for Sunderland at the moment. He had a Terrible career at Newcastle a few years back, scoring 5 own goals in a season (correct me if im wrong). After Newcastle he moved for a short time to Wigan before moving to Sunderland. He isnt the best Defender out there but he is still a god to me!! lol

2010-11-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

Love this video. Fake but good!

Ice

2010-11-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Love This picture. It cracks me up!

Rain

2010-10-29T05:07:00.000-07:00

No mountain biking for me today. Too much rain. Im catching a train to my dads though at 5 and heading home on sunday.

Friday 29th oct

2010-10-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

tomorrow is Friday. I am going out mountain biking :D should be fun :)

first post :)

2010-10-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

This is my first post guys. i will try and write up a blog each day. tell me if u want a click 4 click relationship ;)