The Second Mediterranean Symposium: considering mesothelioma from a local and international perspective

Our plain-English summary of The Second Mediterranean Symposium: considering mesothelioma from a local and international perspective, by T. Treasure (Future Oncology, 2015).

The study

• Author: T. Treasure
• Journal: Future Oncology
• Published: 2015;11(24 Suppl):5-6
• Type of article: Editorial
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This is a short editorial by the author, not a research study. It introduced a supplement of Future Oncology on the Second Mediterranean Symposium on Thoracic Oncology, held in Catania, Sicily. The author described the nearby town of Biancavilla. Citing earlier research, the editorial said that fibrous amphiboles from local quarries had been found there in building materials (mortar and plasters) and in airborne dust. Local doctors described reducing the risk by sealing and covering the amphibole-containing material. At the meeting, students from Catania reported that what their textbooks said about treating mesothelioma was sparse, contradictory and not based on evidence. The author wrote that thoracic oncology has had few high-quality clinical studies. The author noted three randomized controlled trials of surgery for mesothelioma. The first was the UK MARS trial, which shaped the author's own views on extrapleural pneumonectomy. The second was the MesoVATS trial, which compared videothoracoscopic partial pleurectomy with pleurodesis. The third was an as yet unpublished controlled trial of extrapleural pneumonectomy, presented by a researcher from Rotterdam. The editorial reported no new data of its own.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: editorial introducing a symposium supplement (no original research)
• Who was studied: No study population. The editorial concerns the Second Mediterranean Symposium on Thoracic Oncology in Catania, Sicily, and the nearby town of Biancavilla.
• Exposure: Fibrous amphiboles in Biancavilla. Citing earlier research, the editorial said they had been found in building materials (mortar and plasters) and airborne dust, and came from local quarries.
• Main results:
  • The editorial reported no findings of its own. It said that students from Catania presented an analysis at the meeting finding that textbook content on mesothelioma treatment was sparse, contradictory and not based on evidence.
  • The author stated there have been three randomized controlled trials of surgery for mesothelioma.
  • One of these, the UK MARS trial, shaped the author's views on extrapleural pneumonectomy. The author set out those views as a personal opinion in the same supplement.
  • At the symposium, the MesoVATS trial was presented. It compared videothoracoscopic partial pleurectomy with pleurodesis.
  • At the symposium, unpublished findings of a controlled trial of extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) were presented from Erasmus University Rotterdam.
  • Local doctors described reducing the risk in Biancavilla by sealing and covering amphibole-containing material.
• The authors' conclusion: The author stated that thoracic oncology has had few high-quality clinical studies. The editorial said future symposia are proposed to address the most pressing matters in thoracic surgery.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

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