• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.302-307
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• 2022

Background: In Brazil, asbestos was intensively used from the 1960s until its ban in 2017. Mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural plaques are typical asbestos-related diseases (ARD-T). To create an ARD-T national database, death records from 1996-2017 were retrieved from several health information systems (HIS). Methods: All national HIS containing coded diagnoses (ICD-10) and death information were obtained. Linkage was performed to create a single database of ARD-T death records, either as underlying or contributory causes, in adults aged 30 years and older. Results: A total of 3,057 ARD-T death records were found, 2,405 (76.4%) of which being malignant mesotheliomas (MM). Pleural MM (n = 1,006; 41.8%) and unspecified MM (n = 792; 32.9%) prevailed. Male to female MM ratio (M:F) was 1.4:1, and higher ratios were found for non-malignant ARD-T: 3.5:1 for asbestosis and 2.4:1 for pleural plaques. Male crude annual mesothelioma mortality (CM_mm ×1,000,000) was 0.98 in 1996 and 2.26 in 2017, a 131.1% increment, while for females it was 1.04 and 1.25, a 20.2% increase, correspondingly. The small number of deaths with asbestosis and pleural plaques records precluded conclusive interpretations. Conclusions: Even with the linkage of several HIS, ARD-T in death records remained in low numbers. MM mortality in men was higher and showed a rapid increase and, along with non-malignant ARD-T, higher M:F ratios suggested a predominant pattern of work-related exposure. The monitoring of workplace and environmental asbestos exposure needs to be improved, as well as the workers surveillance, following the recent Brazilian ban.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3887-3889
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• 2013

Introduction: Mesothelioma is a rare neoplasm arising from mesothelial surfaces with the malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) as the most common form. Secondline chemotherapy in MPM is still controversial and in this study we evaluated whether it is superior to best supportive care. Materials and Methods: A total of 51 patients with MPM from Acibadem Kayseri Hospital, Kayseri Training and Research Hospital and Erciyes University were analyzed retrospectively. The patients treated with secondline chemotherapies (SLCT) were compared with those treated with best supportive care (BSC) for overall survival. Results: The median overall survival (OS) for firstline chemotherapy${\rightarrow}$SLCT and firstline chemotherapy${\rightarrow}$BSC groups were 20.3 and 14.7 months respectively (p=0.079). After firstline chemotherapy the median OS for SLCT and BSC were 5.9 and 4.7 months (p=0.355). Discussion: Although there was a trend for improvement in overall survival in patients treated with secondline chemotherapy, the difference was not statistically significant. Our results do not support the proposal that secondline chemotherapy could be effective in patients with MPM.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.166-171
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• 2015

We previously demonstrated that resveratrol and clofarabine elicited a marked cytotoxicity on malignant mesothelioma (MM) MSTO-211H cells but not on the corresponding normal mesothelial MeT-5A cells. Little is known of the possible molecules that could be used to predict preferential chemosensitivity on MSTO-211H cells. Resveratrol and clofarabine induced downregulation of Mcl-1 protein level in MSTO-211H cells. Treatment of cells with cycloheximide in the presence of proteasome inhibitor MG132 suggested that Mcl-1 protein levels were regulated at the post-translational step. The siRNA-based knockdown of Mcl-1 in MSTO-211H cells triggered more growth-inhibiting and apoptosis-inducing effects with the resultant cleavages of procaspase-3 and its substrate PARP, increased caspase-3/7 activity, and increased percentage of apoptotic propensities. However, the majority of the observed changes were not shown in MeT-5A cells. Collectively, these studies indicate that the preferential activation of caspase cascade in malignant cells might have important applications as a therapeutic target for MM.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.432-436
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• 2007

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare tumor that is difficult to clearly distinguish from an adenocarcinoma but usually has a poor prognosis. Numerous cytotoxic agents have been used in the primary treatment of MPM with limited success. A complete response is unusual and a partial response occurs in less than one-third of patients. Recently, a phase III trial showed that a combination of pemetrexed with cisplatin resulted in a significantly higher response rate and median survival time than with cisplatin alone. We encountered a case of a dramatic tumor response to pemetrexed/cisplatin combination chemotherapy in patients with MPM, which was resistant to the 1st-line gemcitabine/cisplatin therapy. After six cycles of pemetrexed/cisplatin combination chemotherapy, the tumor volume had decreased dramatically with complete symptom relief. There was no chemotherapy-related toxicity or scheduled violation. The patient is under maintenance chemotherapy with the same regimen.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.432-437
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• 1999

Benign fibrous mesothelioma of the pleura is a relatively rare neoplasm originated from pleural mesothelial cell, often asymptomatic or presenting with a specifical sign. One of the main problems, concerns the preoperative differential diagnosis, mainly because it is difficult to differentiate between benign and malignant type. A 62-year old woman presented with recurrent chest pain. The chest radiography in a patient was suspected localized pleural mesothelioma. The chest computed tomography scan showed that mass like lesion of well marginated ovoid shape with homogenous attenuation on anterior-basal segment of right lower lobe. After resection of a pleural mass by thoracoscopic extirpation from right hemithorax, Localized benign fibrous mesothelioma of the pleura was confirmed by pathology and immunohisto-chemical staining. We report here one case of pleural benign fibrous mesothelioma with some considerations on its diagnosis and treatment.

• 대한세포병리학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1991.06a
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• pp.19.2-20
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• 1991

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9165-9170
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• 2014

Purpose: This study evaluated the effect of an Educational Program on Palliative Care for MPM for Nurses in Japan. Program: The 5-h program consisted of lectures and care planning group work. Materials and Methods: This study used a pretest-posttest design with a single cohort of nurses and included a Difficulties in Palliative Care for Patients with MPM (DPCMPM) Scale with 15 items. The pre- and posttest scores were compared using a t-test. Results: We included 27 female nurses with a mean of 14.4 years of nursing experience. In 12 of 15 DPCMPM items, the posttest difficulty scores were lower than the pretest scores. Participants highly evaluated the program for validity, clarity, clinical usefulness, and the facilitators. The Palliative Care for MPM Handbook for Nurses was developed as an educational tool for clinical settings. Conclusions: The Educational Program on Palliative Care for MPM for Nurses was effective in reducing nursing difficulties.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.76 no.1
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• pp.42-45
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• 2014

An immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disease is a recently emerging entity, and a few cases of IgG4-related disease in lung and pleura have been reported. Herein, we report the case of a 74-year-old man with IgG4-related disease of lung and pleura, clinically suspicious of malignant mesothelioma. Chest computed tomography showed diffuse nodular pleural thickening, and microscopic finding disclosed diffuse thickening of visceral pleura with infiltrations of many lymphoplasma cells with increased number of IgG4-positive plasma cells and a few multinucleated giant cells. It is important for pathologists and clinicians to recognize this rare entity and its histologic finding, because it can be confused with malignant tumors on the radiologic examination although it can be treated with steroid therapy.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.69-98
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• 2011

Asbestos has been used for roofing, walling and the like for the constructions since 60's~70's owing to its excellent fire resistance and heat insulative nature. However, it has banned to be used in major countries all over the world since WHO-affiliated International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) stipulated asbestos by a top carcinogen causing lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma and so on in 1986. Therefore, we had prohibited the use of asbestos on brakes for automobile since 2007 and on most of the products other than some cases of having no alternatives such as munitions from 2009. Nevertheless, diseases from asbestos have a long incubation period of 10~40 years, therefore, even if being exposed to asbestos, preliminary prevention is rather more important than instant possible damage as damages can be greater decades later. Accordingly, this thesis has a purpose to seek a plan in order to guarantee the rights of national health from harmfulness of asbestos by comparing and reviewing the policies on asbestos in advanced countries such as France, Japan, Netherlands and such like.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3625-3630
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• 2013

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known to promote mesothelial carcinogenesis that is closely associated with asbestos fibers and inflammation. Epithelial to mesenchymal cell transition (EMT) is an important process involved in the progression of tumors, providing cancer cells with aggressiveness. The present study was performed to determine if EMT is induced by $H_2O_2$ in human malignant mesothelioma (HMM) cells. Cultured HMM cells were treated with $H_2O_2$, followed by measuring expression levels of EMT-related genes and proteins. Immunohistochemically, TWIST1 expression was confined to sarcomatous cells in HMM tissues, but not in epithelioid cells. Treatment of HMM cells with $H_2O_2$ promoted EMT, as indicated by increased expression levels of vimentin, SLUG and TWIST1, and decreased E-cadherin expression. Expression of stemness genes such as OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG was also significantly increased by treatment of HMM cells with $H_2O_2$. Alteration of these genes was mediated via activation of hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-$1{\alpha}$) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-${\beta}1$). Considering that treatment with $H_2O_2$ results in excess ROS, the present study suggests that oxidative stress may play a critical role in HMM carcinogenesis by promoting EMT processes and enhancing the expression of stemness genes.