What is mesothelioma, and how does it occur? It’s an all-too-common question, with innumerable answers that may lead to even more questions. The human body is a complex and vulnerable system which can be affected by everything from genetics to our environment. At the Mesothelioma & Asbestos Information Exchange, we try to shed some light on these questions in order to better inform you.

Cancer can occur as a result of impairment of the DNA in human cells. Our bodies are made up an untold number of living cells, from receptor and blood cells to hair cells. Different cells perform different functions in the human body and the majority of cells have DNA. Human cells naturally produce, repair, grow, multiply and die, where new cells take the place of dying ones. With cancer, the altered or impaired DNA and cell do not expire; instead, they continue to multiply with new cells also containing the altered and impaired DNA. While researchers know that some cancer is a result of hereditary or environmental causes, in other cases, the cause isn’t always clear. Furthermore, different types of cancers operate differently. Some cancers may spread, while others do not. The technical name for the spread of cancer to other parts of the human body is metastasis.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer, which, is a result of impaired cells called mesothelium cells. These mesothelium cells act and behave somewhat like oil in a car, lubricating various body cavities, particularly the thoracic cavity surrounding the lungs. The cancer, as a result of damage to these cells, may result from exposure to asbestos particles. Sometimes, symptoms of the cancer do not appear until decades after exposure. This cancer is often discovered via chest x-ray, CT Scan or biopsy.  Mesothelioma treatment options may include surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

What a week it’s been for mesothelioma research.  In the past two days alone, there have been reports on two separate and promising studies that could have excellent implications for victims of this brutal cancer.

The first was reported on Suriving Mesothelioma yesterday and pertains to a study conducted by researchers at the School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences at The University of Western Australia.  Researchers studied the effects of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil and terpinen-4-ol (a substance widely believed to be the active ingredient in tea tree oil) on a mesothelioma cell in vitro.  The result: dead mesothelioma cells.  In addition, the more tea tree oil and terpinen-4-ol the researchers added, the more significantly inhibited the growth of the mesothelioma cells turned out to be.  The substances not only caused the cells to die, but they stopped them from reproducing.  What’s more, the added mixture seemed to be significantly less dangerous to non-tumor cells, which makes these extracts more viable as potential bases for mesothelioma-fighting techniques.

The second study, conducted by University of Washington researchers and reported on today at Mesothelioma.com, might be even more extraordinary.  There, scientists tapped into the rapidly burgeoning field of nanotechnology to deliver a potential blow to mesothelioma.  The researchers are investigating the potential of a toxin known as melittin, which is found in bee venom, to combat the cancer.  Although melittin would destroy cells indiscriminately if left to its own devices, scientists are working on equipping the toxin in tiny nanoparticles known as “nanobees” (so named due to their cargo) to specifically target cancer cells.  The delivery system, while sounding incredibly sci-fi, is actually similar to a technique already being developed to combat ovarian cancer, and it represents a further potential application of the technology.

Obviously, these are just studies, which means that any commercial use of these findings is still a ways off.  Still, they offer encouraging hope for people suffering from the effects of asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma diagnosis just got significantly more effective thanks to a new testing method that combines preexisting tests already independently used to detect the cancer.  According to an article posted on Surviving Mesothelioma, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston came to this conclusion after employing the experimental method on 48 patients suspected of having mesothelioma.  The result: a near doubling of the sensitivity rate of the tests.

The researchers, led by Rachel Factor, an instructor of pathology at Boston Medical Center, collected cells using cytological methods, which involves studying tissue taken from patients on a cellular level.  Cytological methods of detection are considered favorable because they depend upon small samples that do not require invasive techniques to acquire.  The flip side of this ease is that such methods can be inaccurate.  Looking at irritated but otherwise normal cells from the lung lining can look remarkably similar to mesothelioma, for example.

After harvesting the cells, the researchers subjected the samples to not one but two genetic tests.  The first, called karyotyping, involves analyzing the cells’ chromosomes to look for any irregularities that would point toward cancer.  The second, known as flourescent in situ hybridization, or FISH, uses fluorescent probes to detect specific lengths of DNA in chromosomes.  When the researchers applied the modified test to the 48 patients, they noticed a doubling in the detection of mesothelioma.

This is great news, obviously, but the test has room for improvement.  Chief among them is (still) accuracy.  Even after the aforementioned doubling in detection, the sensitivity of the test was still only marked at 60%.  That means that the opportunity for false-negative results is unacceptably high.  One way the researchers could improve the test’s sensitivity is by employing additional FISH probes.  The only problem with that is, many of these probes are not yet commercially available.  Additional research, experimentation, and studies are needed before this test can be fully perfected.  Still, this is a huge step in the right direction, one which may lead to an improvement in the early detection and treatment of this disease and the quality of life of its sufferers.