V. Courtney Broaddus, MD

At the 10th Annual MARF meeting Gala Dinner on June 12th, V. Courtney Broaddus, M.D., Professor of Medicine at  the University of San Francisco and Chief of the Pulmonary Division and Critical Care Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, received a Pioneer Award for her achievements in the research field of mesothelioma and service to MARF.

In addition to her publications on asbestos- induced mechanisms of cell death in mesothelial cells, Courtney has  developed a novel spheroid cell culture system to study signaling pathways of apoptosis resistance in mesothelioma cells and most recently has directed her efforts to exploring inflammatory changes, particularly the role of tumor-associated macrophages, in this disease. She is an example of a creative investigator who received MARF grant support for seminal studies which recently have been funded by the Department of Defense. In addition, Courtney has been an advocate for patients with mesothelioma and regularly attends the MARF meetings and related senate hearings.

Congratulations, Courtney, for your many accomplishments and this honor!

The funding for these three awards has been donated in honor of 3 important advocacy organizations that work to ban asbestos:

1. BANJAN (Ban Asbestos Network Japan) Young Investigator Award ($2000)
2. ADAO (Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization) Young Investigator Award ($1500)
3. IBAS (International Ban Asbestos Secretariat) Young Investigator Award ($1500)

Awardees will be selected by the IMIG Board from submitted abstracts for the Kyoto meeting.

• Submit your abstracts here by June 1st.

The Collegium Ramazzini’s mission is to advance the study of occupational and environmental health issues and to be a bridge between the world of scientific discovery and the social and political centers which must act on the discoveries of science to protect public health.

Suggested by Dr Jim teWaterNaude MBChB, MPhil (MCH), FCPHM

Read article (download).

Proposed model

Giancotti FG et al., Cell. 2010 Feb 19;140(4):477-90.

Cell. 2010 Feb 19;140(4):477-90.

Li W, You L, Cooper J, Schiavon G, Pepe-Caprio A, Zhou L, Ishii R, Giovannini M, Hanemann CO, Long SB, Erdjument-Bromage H, Zhou P, Tempst P, Giancotti FG.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.

Current models imply that the FERM domain protein Merlin, encoded by the tumor suppressor NF2, inhibits mitogenic signaling at or near the plasma membrane. Here, we show that the closed, growth-inhibitory form of Merlin accumulates in the nucleus, binds to the E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4(DCAF1), and suppresses its activity. Depletion of DCAF1 blocks the promitogenic effect of inactivation of Merlin. Conversely, enforced expression of a Merlin-insensitive mutant of DCAF1 counteracts the antimitogenic effect of Merlin. Re-expression of Merlin and silencing of DCAF1 implement a similar, tumor-suppressive program of gene expression. Tumor-derived mutations invariably disrupt Merlin’s ability to interact with or inhibit CRL4(DCAF1). Finally, depletion of DCAF1 inhibits the hyperproliferation of Schwannoma cells from NF2 patients and suppresses the oncogenic potential of Merlin-deficient tumor cell lines. We propose that Merlin suppresses tumorigenesis by translocating to the nucleus to inhibit CRL4(DCAF1).

Read on Pubmed or Cell.

Chicago skyline

Join your colleagues from around the world and participate in discussions on the latest innovations in research, quality, practice, and technology in cancer.

Learn more about the Meeting, from how to receive Continuing Medical Education information, to upcoming important Key Dates.

The theme of the Meeting, chosen by 2009-2010 ASCO President Douglas W. Blayney, MD, is “Advancing Quality through Innovation, and will be evident in many sessions offered as part of the Meeting’s educational program, including:

• From the Cancer Genome to Patients with Cancer: The Next Generation of Innovation—An ASCO/AACR Joint Session
• Future Treatment Approaches toward Colorectal Cancer: New Therapeutic Pathways, New Targets
• Closing the Loop: Evidence, Guidelines, Reporting, and Quality
• How to Use Data to Improve Practice: Nexus of Quality and Efficiency

Find these and other sessions through th online Meeting Program. Build your itinerary today!

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Hedy Lee Kindler, MD

As the President of iMig, I am delighted to welcome you to the redesigned and updated iMig website.

As the leading international organization for physicians and scientists dedicated to mesothelioma research, iMig is proud to unveil this website as part of its mission to communicate with its members across the globe.   Although an iMig website has existed for the past 10 years, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we now have the resources to invest in improving its features, timeliness and interaction with our members.  Many thanks go to Courtney Broaddus and Dario Barbone for their hard work and dedication in creating this new site.

Please explore our new website and learn about its features from Dr. Barbone (see his commentary on this page). Join us as members by using the button on the home page and tell us about your key interests. Contribute ideas and content that we may select for publication on this site.

Lastly, don’t forget the iMig biennial meeting in Kyoto Aug. 31- Sept. 3. As with our past meetings, we envision that this high-profile, trans-disciplinary, international 10th iMig meeting will present scientific information of the highest caliber, foster international collaboration, inspire new investigators, generate new ideas, and establish benchmark standards in this disease.  Please visit the iMig 2010 Kyoto meeting website to register.

Hedy Lee Kindler, MD

The U.K. recognizes that society’s obligation and moral responsibility to remedy the tragic legacy of decades of asbestos use requires funding research to develop effective medical treatments. Will the United States follow?
Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) March 5, 2010 — The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation today publicly praised the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Justice for its progressive and constructive new position on asbestos disease.
Last week, the U.K.’s Minister of Justice, Jack Straw, announced that, along with the vast legal aspects of the asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, the government has an obligation to also address its medical aspects. With this announcement, the U.K. recognizes that the industrial legacy of asbestos, from which all of society has benefited, creates an obligation on the part of society and the government to help those who now bear the burden — suffering and loss of life from asbestos-caused disease.
Therefore the U.K. government has committed to support a “National Centre for Asbestos-Related Disease, a collaborative network of funded researchers whose core purpose would be to advance medical research into the prevention, cure and alleviation of asbestos-related disease and primarily mesothelioma.”
Not only would development of effective mesothelioma treatments serve justice, it would also significantly reduce the costs of litigation, death and disability benefits, and healthcare. Recognizing this, the U.K. insurance industry has also pledged £3 million towards the National Centre for Asbestos-Related Disease.
“This is exactly what the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has been urging in the United States the past ten years,” says Christopher Hahn, the Foundation’s executive director. “Mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases are a fundamental problem of social justice. And a just solution to that problem requires medical research to develop effective treatments to end the suffering and save lives. It is encouraging to see that the U.K. is getting it; we hope the U.S. will catch up soon.”
Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor of the lining of the lung, abdomen or heart caused by asbestos. Medical experts consider it one of the most aggressive of all cancers. For decades it was regarded as untreatable, deadly and hopeless; and so, in a sad, self-fulfilling prophecy, the need for research to develop effective treatments was mostly ignored. For the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and today’s patients, their families, and the millions of Americans who in the last five decades have been exposed to asbestos and are at risk for the cancer, this is unacceptable. The Foundation believes in a cure for mesothelioma, and is committed to funding the research critically-needed to understand and improve treatment of it.
In addition, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation provides patients and families with the most up-to-date information on mesothelioma treatments, clinical trials and medical referrals. The Foundation hosts the annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, which unites doctors, researchers, patients and families, legal advocates, interested pharmaceutical companies, union representatives and other concerned individuals to share information and advance meso research. The Foundation also leads the effort in Washington, D.C. to gain federal investment in mesothelioma research funding and to ban the further use of asbestos.

For more information visit the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s website at www.curemeso.org.

Read the article here.