Mesothelioma News – Tumors grow blood vessels

Researchers are Australia’s Flinders University made the findings in respect of malignant mesothelioma tumors. They found that the tumors follow the process where they make their own blood vessels. As a result the tumors promote their own growth. The blood vessels get to the surrounding tissue instead of waiting for the outside of the tissue to grow blood vessels into the cancer cells. Thus oxygen and nutrients from the blood vessels allow the cancer cells to grow and form secondary tumors.

Sonja Klebe, as Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine and Pathology at Flinders University gave a comment on the subject. She stated that not all tumors were able to grow their own blood vessels. However, the ones that did grow them were the ones that do act more aggressively. She stated that some types of breast cancers are examples of cancers that grow blood vessels.

What this means for mesothelioma

In respect of mesothelioma this vascular copying (blood vessel growth) or growing by the tumors means that mesothelioma is a highly aggressive cancer. Klebe commented that, “the fact that there is more than one way for tumors to get their nutrients makes it more resistant to anti-angiogenic therapies…” Thus the research explains why medicine and therapies for mesothelioma are not effective especially in malignant mesothelioma cells. The findings of the research offer important insights into the cancer.

Some three thousand people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year in the U. S. A. Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer which is caused by exposure to asbestos. However, there are treatments available focused at prolonging the life of patients.The cancer has a long latency period of between twenty and fifty years. The mean age of male patients is sixty years and older especially for persons with a history of on the job asbestos exposure.