There are a number of clinical trials currently underway for the treatment of mesothelioma, the lethal form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Individuals who are diagnosed with mesothelioma are often in the latter stages of their lives because the disease can take decades to develop after the patient has undergone asbestos exposure.

Chemotherapy is fairly standard treatment for mesothelioma, because it is such a fast moving cancer and because it tends to move from the lungs to other parts of the body fairly rapidly. One of the clinical trials now underway under the supervision of the National Cancer Institute is the use of Avastin in combination with chemotherapy.

Avastin is a drug that was developed by Genentech Inc. and initially approved in 2004 by the FDA for the treatment of colorectal cancer.  Avastin’s approach to cancer treatment is a unique approach, designed to inhibit angiogenesis – the process by which new blood vessels develop and carry vital nutrients to a tumor. It is the first FDA approved drug to utilize this approach to cancer control.

Now, there is a trial underway that is currently in Phase II, combining Avastin with chemotherapy in an attempt to prolong the lives of mesothelioma patients. It is being conducted principally in France, but they appear to be soliciting potential participants. Consult the NCI page above for further information.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease that can affect any organ. “Common symptoms are vague, such as fatigue unchanged by sleep, lack of energy, weight loss, aches and pains, dry eyes, blurry vision, shortness of breath, a dry hacking cough or skin lesions.”  The disease can lead to long term, serious side effects including fatality.

These symptoms are consistent with the problems reported by many first responders and workers involved in the rescue and clean-up efforts at the World Trade Center.  According to a report published and discussed on an online medical information site, “We report here that the incidence of sarcoidosis among FDNY WTC rescue workers (firefighters and EMS workers) was significantly increased when compared to the years before WTC dust exposure.  This was especially true during the first 12 months after WTC dust exposure.”

The report goes on to note that  “The lay press has reported four case fatalities in non-FDNY WTC dust-exposed subjects due to interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis (cardiopulmonary involvement), and granulomatous pneumonitis.”  All of this medical language adds up to the fact that there were tens of thousands of workers and New York residents exposed to toxic air pollution following the 9/11 disaster.  With many pulmonary afflictions such as the lung cancer mesothelioma, the initial exposure to pollutants does not result in lethal diseases manifesting themselves until years later.

To many in the medical community, the impact of the pollution released by the collapse of the World Trade Center is just now beginning to come into focus.  It is impossible to define cause-and-effect with regard to World Trade Center diseases, but it is clear that there is a relationship – with potentially serious consequences for thousands of people.  The study report continues: “What could have caused the increased incidence of sarcoidosis among FDNY rescue workers, many within the first year after WTC dust exposure? More than 400 substances have been identified in airborne and settled samples of WTC dust.”

Medical statistics argue for a complex analysis of World Trade Center diseases.  Once again, the report says, “WTC dust-induced asthma and AHR could represent a separate disease resulting from massive exposure to dust constituents coexisting with WTC-[sarcoidosis].

“This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the predominant clinical syndrome in workers, volunteers, and residents participating in health monitoring programs following WTC exposure has been… inflammation involving the upper and lower respiratory tracts that results in WTC cough (new or worsening asthma, AHR, sinusitis, and/or gastroesophageal reflux). This syndrome has affected thousands of workers and volunteers.”

The Minnesota state House of Representatives took a large step during the first week in March towards determining why there is a high incidence of mesothelioma among miners working in the Iron Range.  Since WWII, a mineral known as taconite has been a major source of iron, much of it coming from the area of Minnesota that has long been noted for its iron deposits.

Taconite in its natural state contains only 30-35% iron so the ore is pulverized during the process of extracting the iron.  Taconite contains fibers of a number of substances, and there have now been 58 cases of mesothelioma reported among the men working in those mines.

The state undertook but did not complete a study in 2003 on the question of whether asbestos in taconite was causing mesothelioma development – at that time, there were 17 reported cases.  That number has tripled over five years, heightening the concern among miners and their families that taconite processing may release asbestos fibers.  Researchers intend to look at records covering the 70,000 miners that worked in taconite mines from the 1950s to the 1980s.

This time, the Minnesota legislature is proposing a $4.9 million allocation to do a thorough study of the impact taconite mining may be having on workers in the Iron Range.  The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration is also putting new requirements in place to protect miners who may be exposed to asbestos; these regulations are in part the result of the publicity generated by the mesothelioma cases reported among the Minnesota miners.

This story was also reported by Workday Minnesota as well as In-ForumNews.

For the second time this year, Bethel High School in Danbury Connecticut was temporarily closed due to tests that showed asbestos fibers in the air in certain areas of the school.  The Danbury News Times reports that an asbestos abatement company under contract to remove all asbestos from the school’s structures reported a minor accident that resulted in elevated levels of asbestos shown in air samples at the school.

Eagle Environmental Inc. was working in a school lab when one of the lab tabletops was dropped and broke.  While the incident occurred on Tuesday, school officials were not informed until Thursday, when the school was evacuated until air samples showed clear readings.  School officials were not pleased when they learned the incident had occurred two days before the report of airborne asbestos fibers.  Further, there was some question among school personnel as to the disparity between the location of the lab accident and the location of the air sample that prompted the school closure.

The principal of Bethel High received a fax from Eagle Environmental on Thursday morning, informing her that the state Department of Health wanted the school closed.  There was some confusion at the state level, however, as to whether the department had requested the school closure at all.

As a result of the confusion, the state is sending an investigations team to Bethel High, to try and determine the sequence of events and the locations for the air samples that led to the school’s disruption.  The incident is one more example of the potential danger involved in conducting asbestos abatement in buildings that are in use.

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