Mesothelioma

Legislation sponsored by Rep.

Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, would require the Minnesota Department of Health to collect work history as part of its statewide cancer surveillance system.

Clark's proposal is included in the omnibus health and human services appropriations bill awaiting passage in the House.

"It's information that's long overdue in many registries, not just cancer registries," said Dr.

Ian Greaves, a University of Minnesota physician specializing in lung diseases.

Unusually high rates of Between 1988 and 2005, 136 cases of the disease were diagnosed – much higher than the incidence anywhere else in the country.

A 2003 study identified 17 cases of the disease.

Since then, another 35 cases have been discovered, prompting the department to announce two new health studies.

One will focus on the health of mine workers in the region, while the other will assess the potential health impact of specific types of airborne mineral fragments generated in the taconite industry.

The assessment will then be used to set regulatory exposure limits for those materials, the d...

Carbone highlighted the growing worldwide problem of asbestos exposure and its link to malignant Dr.

Carbone presented data that show the early detection in patients at high risk for developing malignant Furthermore, he pointed out that ONCONASE's favorable toxicity profile and its well-documented mechanism of action, which directly affects the pathway that has been shown to cause asbestos carcinogenesis, position ONCONASE for potential early administration to populations "at-risk" for If clinically validated, such a new approach might enable physicians to use ONCONASE as a chemopreventive agent to potentially prevent the onset of "The potential of ONCONASE as an early first-line preventative treatment for Carbone.

"With approximately more than 25 million asbestos exposure cases reported worldwide, we believe that ONCONASE might play a greater role in the treatment protocols for a much larger population than was originally envisioned for this dismal disease." Dr.

Carbone i...