More than 20 million people who have been exposed to asbestos are at risk of suffering from Mesothelioma cancer

More than 20 million people in the United States, and many more worldwide, who have been exposed to asbestos are at risk of suffering from Mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma cancer is a form of lung cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure and cancer is most often found on the outside of the lung lining called the mesothelium. The majority of people who suffer from mesothelioma cancer are due to inhaling asbestos fibers or asbestos dust exposure on the job. In cases where Mesothelioma cancer is found in a person without previous exposure to asbestos on the job, it can be concluded that exposure to asbestos may have come from asbestos fibers found on the clothing of someone in their home who work in areas where asbestos dust was found. Mesothelioma cancer is a malignant cancer of the membranes covering the lungs and abdomen that are resistant to current cancer therapies. In addition, exposure to asbestos also increases the risk of lung cancer among smokers. Over the last 40 years researchers have tried to understand why the asbestos can cause cancer.
The answer came in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, Drs. Haining Yang and Michele Carbone at the University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center who led a research team that includes several collaborators at New York University, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, San Raffaele University of Milano, and Imperial College in London.
These researchers discuss the paradox of how the asbestos fibers that kill cells that can cause cancer, because cells that die are not always grow and form a Cancer. They found that when asbestos kills cells, it does so by inducing a process called "programmed cell necrosis" which leads to spending a molecule called high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1). HMGB1 cause an inflammatory reaction that causes the release of mutagens and the factors that promote cancer growth. The researchers found that patients exposed to asbestos have elevated levels of HMGB1 in their serum. Therefore, they state that it is possible to target HMGB1 to prevent or treat cancer Mesothelioma and identifying workers exposed to asbestos with a simple serological test HMGB1.
In the article, the researchers propose that by interfering with the inflammatory reaction caused by asbestos and HMGB1, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of cancer among workers exposed to asbestos and the lower the growth rate of cancer among those already affected by Mesothelioma Cancer. Drs. Yang and Carbone, stating that in order to test this hypothesis, they are now planning clinical trials in remote areas in Cappadocia, Turkey, where more than 50% of the population died from malignant mesothelioma cancer. If results are positive, the approach will be extended to workers exposed to asbestos in the United States.
This study emphasizes the role of inflammation in causing various types of cancer and provide new clinical tools to identify individuals exposed to asbestos and prevent or reduce cancer growth. The researchers questioned whether it would be possible to prevent Mesothelioma Cancer, such as colon cancer, which is enough by taking aspirin or similar drugs that cause inflammation stops. They will test this hypothesis.
Sources: University of Hawaii at Manoa