Federal Mesothelioma Research Funding

Mesothelioma (meso) is an asbestos-related cancer that painfully and aggressively invades the lining of the lungs, abdomen, heart or testicles. For decades, the need to develop treatments for meso was overlooked. As a result, today’s standard treatments usually have only a very limited effect and the average survival time is only 4 to 14 months.

Meso kills thousands of Americans each year, and its incidence is rising. For decades asbestos was used heavily in Navy ships and shipyards, in industrial workplaces, and in the construction of our buildings, schools, and homes. Meso has a long latency (30 years average) and most at risk are millions of U.S. workers and servicemen who were exposed almost daily over long periods of time. When they brought the fibers home each night on their hair, skin and clothes, their wives and children were exposed too.

But even short-term, low exposures can cause the disease, and Americans continue to be put at risk today. The EPA estimates that asbestos is present in as many as 30 million U.S. homes. It still has not been banned in the U.S. and is used in over 3,000 products. Hundreds of tons were released into New York’s air from the collapse of the World Trade Center on 9/11. At least 100,000 firefighters, police officers, rescue workers and New York City residents, workers and school children were likely exposed to dangerous levels.

Experts believe that with appropriate resources, effective means to treat meso, and/or to detect it early and prevent it, are within reach. Currently, there are no federal dollars specifically allocated for meso research, even though one third of meso patients were exposed in U.S. Navy ships and shipyards.

The NMRTP would function primarily through ten meso centers located strategically throughout the country. The NMRTP’s first priority would be to move forward on exciting advances being made in early detection and prevention.

The second priority would be research to improve treatments for, and ultimately cure, mesothelioma. This includes all of the novel surgical, chemotherapeutic, radiation, and biologic strategies now being pursued. It also includes a registry and tissue bank. Unlike most European nations, the U.S. does not maintain a comprehensive registry for mesothelioma as a reportable disease.

The final priority is education. Public awareness of meso must increase. More young investigators and clinicians must be trained. Meso patients, their family members and their local physicians need accessible, up-to-date information on newly available treatments, on managing pain and side effects, and on coping with this cruel disease.

My signature indicates that I support The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s work to establish a National Mesothelioma Research and Treatment Program, federally funded at $30 million per year.