Dr. Schiffman received his B.S. degree with High Honors in biology from Hobart College in 1976. He then moved to Chicago where he studied biochemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. He attended Rush Medical College where he received his M.D. degree in 1982 and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at the University of California, Irvine.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Is there any promising research or are there
promising drugs for mesothelioma?
New approaches being studied
New approaches to treat malignant mesothelioma are currently being tested.
They often combine traditional treatments or include something entirely new.
They include
Promising drugs
L-NDDP (Platar): Intrapleural
administration of this platinum product is designed to
overcome the toxicity and drug resistance currently
limiting the usefulness of platinum drugs like Cisplatin.
NOTE: A recent trial produced remission in two
patients.
Endostatin has been shown to work with
angiostatin in destroying a tumors' ability to grow blood
vessels without harming normal cells.
Lovastatin
is a cholesterol drug shown in a recent study to potentially inhibit
mesothelioma cancer cell growth.
Intrapleural interferon gamma
is the direct administration of the
anti-cancer drug interferon gamma.
Immunotherapy treats cancer by helping the immune
system fight the disease.
Gene therapy
treats cancer by correcting the
genetic deficits that allow tumors to develop. A
September 1999 study found that interferon
interleukin prevented the growth of mesothelioma cells
in mice.
Research is being conducted at various cancer centers all over the United States.
A recent study involving L-NDDP produced two cases of remission
in mesothelioma patients. Another study found that a drug known as Lovastatin may hold promise
for mesothelioma patients.
To learn more about mesothelioma clinical studies and journal
medical journal articles, visit the Mesothelioma Web
(http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org).
Lung cancer kills more men and women than any other form of cancer. Eight out of 10 lung cancers are due
to tobacco smoke. Lung cancers are classified as either small cell or non-small
cell cancers.
Chest pain is a common complaint by a patient in the ER. Causes of chest pain include broken or bruised ribs, pleurisy, pneumothorax, shingles, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, angina, heart attack, costochondritis, pericarditis, aorta or aortic dissection, and reflux esophagitis. Diagnosis and treatment of chest pain depends upon the cause and clinical presentation of the patient's chest pain.
Pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around the lungs, is associated with sharp chest pain upon breathing in. Cough, chest tenderness, and shortness of breath are other symptoms associated with pleurisy. Pleurisy pain can be managed with pain medication and by external splinting of the chest wall.
Cancer is a disease caused by an abnormal growth of cells, also called malignancy. It is a group of 100 different diseases, and is not contagious. Cancer can be treated through chemotherapy, a treatment of drugs that destroy cancer cells.
Pleural effusion is an excess fluid between the two membranes that envelop the lungs. There are two classifications of causes of pleural effusion; transudate and exudate. The treatment of pleural effusion depends on the cause.
Though it's difficult to say why some people develop cancer while others don't, research shows that certain risk factors increase a person's odds of developing cancer. These risk factors include growing older, family history of cancer, diet, alcohol and tobacco use, and exposure to sunlight, ionizing radiation, certain chemicals, and some viruses and bacteria.
Asbestos exposure lung disease is divided into three main types, asbestosis (lung scarring caused by asbestos fibers), disease of the lining of the lung (pleural plaques, scarring, or fluid accumulation), and lung cancer. Mesothelioma is cancer of the lining of the lung caused by asbestos exposure. Cancers of the larynx, throat, kidney, esophagus, and gallbladder have been linked to asbestos exposure. Treatment is dependant upon the type of condition related to asbestos exposure.
The lungs are primarily responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air we breathe and the blood. Eliminating carbon dioxide from the blood is important, because as it builds up in the blood, headaches, drowsiness, coma, and eventually death may occur. The air we breathe in (inhalation) is warmed, humidified, and cleaned by the nose and the lungs.
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