The Washington Post reports (via the Los Angeles Times) the passing of Les Skramstad, one of the early leaders notifying the world about the dangers from the Libby Montana vermiculite mine. Skramstad worked there from 1959 to 1962 and was diagnosed with asbestosis in 1996. He subsequently got mesothelioma, which is what he died from. A landmark in this long, strange story.
Monthly Archives: January 2007
M.D. Anderson reports success with kinase inhibitors
Not direct mesothelioma news, but interesting and encouraging nevertheless. Scientists at M.D. Anderson had success with MK-0457 (VX-680), a novel multi-kinase inhibitor, to treat leukemia and myeloproliferative disorders. Kinase inhibitors are one of the most promising areas of research in cancer treatment today.
Trends in cancer incidence
Ogan Gurel has an article on the Wisconsin Technology Network website about the recent decline in cancer deaths in the United States. He identifies the four major technical advances in cancer therapy in the past decade.
- Earlier detection and diagnosis.
- Targeted therapies.
- Personalized medicine.
- Minimally invasive surgery.
Interesting article. Check it out.
New use for old drug: cancer treatment
New Scientist has an article headlined Cheap, safe drugs kill most cancers. The drug in question is dichloroacetate (DCA), which is already used for other maladies. Scientists will have to investigate this thoroughly, but the good news is that this material is inexpensive.
The blogger Orac has some reservations. He points out DCA has only been tested in cell culture and rats and that cancer is not a single disease, so it would be unrealistic to expect a miracle cure (or any cure) for all cancers.