CHEST 2012, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, is in full swing in Atlanta, Georgia. Featuring sessions in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, the conference offers a variety of presentations beneficial to mesothelioma and lung cancer patients. The conference runs through Thursday.
Mesothelioma is a pulmonary cancer caused by past exposure to asbestos. Unlike lung cancer that presents as individual tumors on the lungs, mesothelioma cancer cells invade the lining of the lung as a large mass of interlocked tumors that blend in with healthy tissue. However, treatment for lung cancer and mesothelioma is similar.
Following are just some of the findings from CHEST 2012 that may offer treatment options to mesothelioma patients:
- Patients who have undergone resection for non-small cell lung cancer may improve their overall survival and reduce the risk of recurrence by taking statins, a class of medicines that are frequently used to lower blood cholesterol levels. Researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute found that statin use was associated with a significantly lower local recurrence rate and significantly higher overall survival compared with non-statin users.
- Chinese herbs, including JHQG, BFXL, and BFHX, may show significant benefits for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and influenza, according to researchers from China Academy of Chinese Medical Science in Beijing. They found that JHQG helped to prolong survival in patients with metastatic lung cancer compared with patients receiving standard care and could help improve patients' quality of life and activity capacity.
- Japanese researchers reported that a soft, extendible band fitted around the chest may help to relieve a cough in patients with persistent dry cough. The researchers concluded that soft chest band therapy for intractable, prolonged, and chronic cough is a safe and effective therapy.
The American College of Chest Physicians, an international medical society, is the leading resource for improvement in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine worldwide. The ACCP promotes the prevention and treatment of chest diseases through leadership, education, research, and communication.
