Verastem's VS-6063 gets orphan drug status

Hope seems to be on its way to mesothelioma patients. Good news because the European Commission has just granted Verastem, Inc.’s VS-6063 the orphan status.

According to News-Medical.net, Verastem, Inc., has been working hard to discover and develop drugs that will treat cancer aiming at cancer stem cells.  

VS-6063’s orphan designation only serves to encourage the development of the drug, which will provide benefit to patients with mesothelioma cancer, as well as other diseases.

The drug-maker wants to begin “the randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial of VS-6063 in mesothelioma” within this year.

"We are pleased that the EMA recognizes the significant unmet medical need in mesothelioma," said Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Verastem Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This orphan drug designation provides us with a number of benefits in the development of VS-6063."

Radioactive Lead May Treat Cancer including Mesothelioma

Radioactive lead may treat cancer. This is if researchers at Areva Med in France succeeds in their experiment as they try to explore this procedure as a more effective treatment to cancers, including ovarian, gastric, pancreatic, cancers, especially the most dreaded of them all, mesothelioma cancers.

Areva’s research, as noted by AFP, features the use of the Pb212 isotope in fighting against antagonistic cancers. However, this isotope can be found only in very rare metals, like thorium. Only very few countries have stocks of this radioactive metal.

The study began in 2003, when researchers decided extracting the isotope when they had hints that this rare element is indeed effective in cancer treatment. When they saw signs of promise, Areva opened a medical affiliate in U.S. in 2009, continually working with the Pb212 in the U.S.

In 2011, together with physicians at the University of Alabama, Areva Med started the first phase of the clinical trial using radioimmunotherapy. The first of the 18 test patients started with therapy in April 2012. Areva Med chief Patrick Bourdet noted that the trial has been going well. If the progress goes on, Areva believes that their findings could be of long-term use.

Mother Of Three Dies Of Mesothelioma After Hugging Her Father When She Was A Child

Debbie Brewer, the mother-of-three who died of mesothelioma because
she hugged her father when she was a child.
Image credit: SWNS.com/Mail Online

Debbie Brewer spent seven years fighting mesothelioma cancer after contracting the disease by frequently hugging his father as a child, reports Mail Online.

Her father, Philip Northmore, worked as a lagger scraping asbestos from pipes at the British Royal Navy’s dockyard in Davenport. Northmore himself died of asbestos-related lung illness in 2006, the same year that his daughter was diagnoses with the long-dormant illness.

Mail Online reports that Northmore would come home every day from the dockyard virtually covered by asbestos. Debbie would rush to her father to give him a welcome hug, unknowingly killing herself in the long run.

In 2007, Debbie was awarded a six-figure sum by the Ministry of Defence who operated the dockyard after the agency admitted liability.

Volunteers Warned Against Mesothelioma Risk in Oklahoma

Oklahoma volunteers may be at risk from asbestos exposure. 

Volunteers from all over the country continue to head to storm-ravaged Oklahoma for the cleanup effort. But while their hard work and passion to helping others are hailed, they are however, warned against the threat of mesothelioma cancer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a lot of damaged homes and buildings in Moore, Oklahoma have been found to be exposed to different toxins. That includes asbestos, the number one cause of malignant mesothelioma.

While asbestos has long been phased out as among the construction materials, it is still present in large quantities in insulation, caulk and joint compound, floor and ceiling tiles, and shingles of old houses and buildings. In fact, a lot of establishments damaged by the hurricane are those that had been built between the late 50s and 1970s. This was the time when asbestos was the leading construction material. Although asbestos may not pose harm when buildings were intact, the risk, however, comes for anyone who unintentionally comes in contact with the hazardous material.

Early Stage Mesothelioma Symptoms You Should Watch Out

Mesothelioma cancer is a disease attributed to exposure to asbestos. It affects the mesothelium, the protective layer that covers some vital internal organs on the body. Early mesothelioma symptoms can be very elusive that victims tend to ignore them or feel that these symptoms do not need any medical attention. Oftentimes, these symptoms do not even manifest until the disease is already in a severe condition, and that medication is already too late to contain or cure mesothelioma.

Early Stage Mesothelioma Symptoms

Symptoms of mesothelioma cancer often manifest fifteen to twenty years after the victims’ exposure tot asbestos, and these symptoms vary. What are the factors of these variations? Well, for one the severity of the condition is a great factor; other factors include the immunity of the person to the condition and, of course, the anatomical area of the body where mesothelioma developed.

Mesothelioma Symptoms May Benefit from Tuberculosis Drugs

A person with mesothelioma may manifest pleural effusion, considered as one of the most excruciating and event life-limiting mesothelioma symptoms. Pleural effusion occurs with the excessive supply of fluid in the pleural space surrounding the lungs. This usually manifests in later stages of mesothelioma, although this may also afflict patients with other types of cancer.

This mesothelioma symptom restricts breathing and may even prove painful. In fact, effusion is considered one of the most common factors why late-stage mesothelioma patients have difficulty taking a full breath. Most of the time, they may even complain chest pain and fatigue.

Pleural effusion may be remedied by draining the fluid in two ways. One is thoracentesis, while the other is chemically absorbing pleura through pleurodesis. However, these treatments are not only agonizing but they don’t really guarantee complete  recovery for the patient.

Determining Factors in Mesothelioma Compensation

Mesothelioma cancer is a kind of cancer that is characterized by the thickening of the mesothelium (the membrane that forms the lining of several body cavities). It develops on different anatomical sites of the body, and among the most common are pleural, peritoneal, pericardial, and testicular mesothelioma. The cause of this disease has always been attributed to asbestos exposure, which has also different reasons. There are also different ways how a person can be exposed to asbestos, but the most common reasons are occupational and residential exposures. People who work or live in places where asbestos is abundant are at higher risks in developing mesothelioma.

However, regardless of the reasons, some people are able to file compensation lawsuits against companies that are responsible for their asbestos exposure when they have already been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Asbestos is highly regarded as a health hazard, and companies distributing such materials (health hazards) are liable for the damages they cause. However still, not all who filed such lawsuits were compensated. Why? Because there are serious factors that are being considered before a decision for compensation is made. Here are some of them.