New York attorney Joseph W. Belluck, who handles mesothelioma cases, says study may give patients and their families a more accurate prognosis of the disease and how post-surgical patients will likely respond.
New York, NY (PRWEB) March 9, 2010 -- Until now, doctors have had difficulty determining which mesothelioma patients were the best candidates to receive the full array of anti-cancer treatments including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. But new research may give doctors one more tool for identifying those patients, a New York personal injury lawyer said.
Belluck, a partner in the law firm Belluck & Fox, said the research represented a potential breakthrough in helping guide treatment of mesothelioma patients. His firm sponsors the Web site MesotheliomaHelp.net.
“Mesothelioma is a terrible disease, and this specific microRNA may help doctors and clinicians give patients and their families a more accurate prognosis of the disease and how post-surgical patients will likely respond,” Belluck said. “It’s an important step in understanding and combating this disease.”
In an article published in the medical journal Cancer Research, a team of researchers, based at New York University, the University of Hawaii and Rosetta Genomics Ltd., in Israel, said the presence of even a single specific microRNA has significant predictive value for assessing the course that a mesothelioma patient’s disease will take after surgery.
The research, if validated by follow-up studies, may give doctors a potent new clinical method for treating mesothelioma patients.
All people and other living organisms contain DNA and RNA, the building blocks of life. Each DNA molecule contains hundreds of millions of atoms in a unique sequence that carries the genetic information to construct and maintain cells. RNA translates the genetic information into specific instructions.
MicroRNAs are single-stranded molecules that regulate gene expression. They play a major role in the progression of changes on a cellular and genetic level that reprogram a cell to undergo uncontrolled cell division, causing cancerous tumors.
MicroRNAs have been used as prognostic markers for numerous forms of cancer, including ovarian, pancreatic, lung and breast cancers. They’ve also been used as biomarkers to pinpoint the tissue where cancer originated. But few studies have explored the role of microRNAs in malignant pleural mesothelioma.
In two groups of patients, the researchers said the microRNA -- known as has-miR-29c -- proved to be a reliable indicator of when the disease would worsen after surgery and the length of survival after surgery. The research was done on 129 samples of malignant mesothelioma tissue collected from 1990 to 2005.
With each tissue sample, the researchers had information about the mesothelioma patient including age, sex, stage of cancer, when the disease worsened after surgery and the time of death after surgery.
Using microRNA as a guide, the researchers were able to divide patients who had undergone surgery to remove tumors into two groups: those that would survive more than a year after surgery and those that died within 12 months or less. Elevated amounts of microRNA were associated with significantly decreased spread of cancer cells and with prolonged survival, the researchers said.
In one group, for example, the researchers found that the presence of certain levels of has-miR-29c could be used to divide patients into a good prognosis group with a median survival rate of 21 months and a poor prognosis group with a median survival rate of nine months.
The research suggests that selected microRNA functions as an important control mechanism in malignant pleural mesothelioma. The researchers said further validation of the findings and follow-up research could provide insight for prognosis of mesothelioma in patients' potential therapies in the future.
The research was supported in part by philanthropic grants from the law firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP in New York and the Stephen Banner Lung Cancer Foundation.
About Belluck & Fox, LLP
Belluck & Fox LLP is a nationally recognized law firm that represents individuals with asbestos and mesothelioma claims, as well as victims of crime, medical malpractice, motorcycle crashes, lead paint and other serious injuries. The firm has won more than $200 million in compensation for its clients and their families.
Partner Jordan Fox is a well-known asbestos and mesothelioma attorney who has been named to the Best Lawyers in America, New York Magazine’s “the Best Lawyers in the New York Area” and to Super Lawyers. On two separate occasions his verdicts were featured as the National Law Journal’s Largest Verdict of the Year.
Partner Joseph W. Belluck is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in New York Magazine’s “The Best Lawyers in the New York Area” and in Super Lawyers. Mr. Belluck has won numerous cases involving injuries from asbestos, defective medical products, tobacco and lead paint, including a recent asbestos case that settled for more than $12 million.
For more information, contact the firm at 877-695-2909 or visit http://www.mesotheliomahelp.net/.
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