Mesothelioma Lawsuits Determined Extensive Research in Treating MPM Cancer

With Mesothelioma incidence rates expected to double in the next two decades and an increasing number of lawsuits involving this type of lung cancer, scientists are more and more determined to develop an effective anti-MPM drug. With 2,485 malignant mesothelioma deaths in 1999, caused by exposure to asbestos and half as many lawsuits, researchers are put to the test. According to a National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) report containing mesothelioma legal information and statistics, New York ranked fourth in 1999 in mesothelioma deaths, with 169, and New Jersey ranked eighth, with 111 deaths.

An eminent panel of international speakers at a symposium sponsored by Hospira at the 35th congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Milan, concluded that Raltitrexed (Tomudex), in combination with Cisplatin, improves overall survival, compared with the Cisplatin treatment alone. Raltitrexed is currently licensed for the treatment of MPM in Portugal, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Further authorizations are expected for this drug in Europe, by the end of the year.

Researchers also seem to agree that a form of Vitamin E may be effective in inducing apoptosis, or cell death, and suppressing cancer growth in malignant mesothelioma. Studies lasting for the past five years show that alpha tocepherol, the most prevalent form of vitamin E in the body, as well as that administered as a supplement, is effective in fighting treatment-resistant breast cancer tumors, and could be just as effective in fighting mesothelioma.

MSP stands for a distinct type of lung cancer over exposed to asbestos fibres. Also known as “asbestos cancer,” mesothelioma is highly aggressive and is resistant to many standard cancer treatments. Currently there is no known cure for mesothelioma, and the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis. Vitamin E is known for its antioxidant properties and for protecting skin cells from ultra violet light, pollution, drugs, and other elements that damage the free radicals in cells. Both Italian and Australian researchers reported that alpha-tocopheryl succinate, vitamin E, “efficiently kills malignant mesothelioma cells and sensitises them to the immunologic inducer of apoptosis tumor necrosis factor.”