American Association for Cancer Research Awards Cancer Researcher, Dr. Carbone, for Mesothelioma Work (cont.)

Story continued from here . Dr. Carbone's cancer research also discovered that the deaths were clustered – in one house, everyone passed away from mesothelioma, while in the adjacent house, no one got sick. Additionally, when the residents of a house died, villagers would demolish their house – spreading dust into the air where everyone would be exposed. Surprisingly however, there were large numbers of people who were being exposed to huge levels of dust and yet remaining healthy.

After years of continued research, Carbone uncovered that there was a genetic predisposition for mesothelioma – yes, the asbestos or erionite would cause the disease, but certain individuals with a certain genetic makeup were much more likely to develop symptoms and contract the disease. Dr. Carbone states that his research team is now close to identifying the specific gene responsible, which could greatly improve methods of early detection and even lead to a cure.