Study Supports Opdivo as Second-Line Mesothelioma Treatment
When the effectiveness of first-line chemotherapy fails and malignant mesothelioma returns, more patients could soon turn with confidence to a proven, second-line treatment. The first phase III, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial studying the safety and efficacy of Opdivo, the immunotherapy drug known generically as nivolumab, has raised the level of confidence in this option for patients with relapsed disease. “The evidence is robust, the survival significant,” Dr. Dean Fennell, chair of Thoracic Medical Oncology, University of Leicester and University Hospitals in the United Kingdom, told The Mesot...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - November 2, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Life-extending drug for sufferers of asbestos lung disease will finally be available on the NHS
Those with pulmonary fibrosis caused by asbestos inhalation will be among more than 15,000 Britons with the disease who will now have the chance to extend their life by two years or more. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - November 1, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

New California Law Could Benefit Mesothelioma Plaintiffs
A recently amended California law will now allow the estates of deceased plaintiffs, including mesothelioma patients, to collect pain and suffering damages. Previously, only the person who sustained bodily injury could recover pain and suffering damages. These damages are often the largest sums of money at stake in many mesothelioma lawsuits. When it becomes law on Jan. 1, Senate Bill 447 will expand the range of recoverable damages and eliminate long-standing restrictions. The amended statute, signed Oct. 1, allows California to join 45 other states that permit the recovery of noneconomic damages for an assort...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 25, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Johnson & Johnson Sending Talc Cases to Bankruptcy Court
As expected, Johnson & Johnson has unloaded its burgeoning talc-related liabilities on a new subsidiary that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 14. The controversial move, which confirmed the fears of many personal injury attorneys, is an attempt by J&J to more easily resolve the thousands of current and future lawsuits claiming that its talc products have caused serious medical problems, including ovarian and mesothelioma cancers. Most of the claims contend that talc in the products was contaminated with toxic asbestos fibers. The filing, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 18, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Courts Seeing More Secondary Asbestos Exposure Lawsuits
Secondary exposure to toxic asbestos has declined dramatically in recent decades, but known cases of malignant mesothelioma caused by that type of asbestos exposure have continued to climb. Increasing awareness of the rare cancer has led to the contrasting trends and an expected rise in personal injury lawsuits involving secondary asbestos exposure. “One of the reasons is that we are getting better at diagnosing the disease,” attorney Daniel Wasserberg, who specializes in asbestos litigation, told The Mesothelioma Center at asbestos.com. “Years ago, a woman with classic mesothelioma symptoms, but with no obviou...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 18, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

War journalism: an occupational exposure - Magnavita N, Congedo MT, Di Prinzio RR, Iuliano A.
Apart from the risk of accidents, war theatres present a hazard related to numerous long-lasting toxic agents. For 10 years, a>60-year-old male journalist worked in war theatres in the Far and Near East where he was exposed to asbestos and other toxic sub... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - October 18, 2021 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Economics of Injury and Safety, PTSD, Injury Outcomes Source Type: news

Johnson & Johnson Takes Steps to Equitably Resolve All Current and Future Talc Claims
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., October 14, 2021 – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (the Company) today announced that LTL Management LLC (LTL), a newly created and separate subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, that was established to hold and manage claims in the cosmetic talc litigation, has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This filing is intended to resolve all claims related to cosmetic talc in a manner that is equitable to all parties, including any current and future claimants. Johnson & Johnson and its other affiliates did not file for bankruptcy protection and will continue to operate their busines...
Source: Johnson and Johnson - October 14, 2021 Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: Latest News Source Type: news

EPA Settles Lawsuits, Agrees to Broader Asbestos Risk Evaluations
Facing legal pressure from health and advocacy organizations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to broaden its ongoing Risk Evaluation for Asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act. An agreement to settle two lawsuits – both alleging inadequate evaluation of toxic asbestos – was filed Oct. 13 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization was the lead plaintiff in the risk evaluation litigation and was joined by health organizations, scientists and doctors, including acclaimed thoracic surgeon Dr. Raja Flores of Mount Sinai ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 14, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Researchers Open Phase I Clinical Trial of Cryoablation with Keytruda
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City has opened a novel clinical trial that combines the immunotherapy drug Keytruda with cryoablation for patients with unresectable malignant mesothelioma. The phase I trial opened in September and will be available at seven Memorial Sloan Kettering locations in the New York City/New Jersey area. Cryoablation, which is also known as cryotherapy or cryosurgery, is a treatment that freezes localized tumors with argon gas or liquid nitrogen. It has been used effectively with liver, kidney and prostate cancers, but its use with mesothelioma has been limited because of ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 14, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

New Opdivo/Yervoy Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Begins Soon
A novel clinical trial involving the immunotherapy combination of Opdivo and Yervoy will open soon in Chicago. The goal is to study the drugs’ efficacy when added to surgery for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma cancer. The single-center, phase II clinical trial follows a recent report detailing the impressive three-year effectiveness of the drug combination when used for unresectable pleural mesothelioma. Bristol Myers Squibb manufactures Opdivo and Yervoy, known generically as nivolumab and ipilimumab. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the combination for pleural mesothelioma in 2020, making it t...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 7, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Virtual Symposium to Focus on Mesothelioma Treatment Advances
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of South Florida will host its free virtual First Miami International Mesothelioma Symposium on November 6, 2021. The Mesothelioma Program at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center has grown to become one of America’s leaders in this specialized field, attracting a wide range of expertise for its upcoming virtual symposium. “Mesothelioma is such a rare disease that we really have to bring in experts from around the world to get a true picture of what’s coming next. And I think we’ve done that with our program,” medical oncologist Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez, Symposium c...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 5, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Source Type: news

Asbestos Cleanup Moving Forward at EPA ’s Libby Superfund Site
Decontamination efforts in Libby, Montana – the largest asbestos cleanup project in American history – moved another step closer to completion this month, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA have determined that restoration efforts are complete in another major segment of the original Libby Asbestos Superfund site. A Superfund designation is defined as a federal public health emergency. Contamination at the site stemmed from the W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine, once the lifeblood of the area, that spread asbestos dust throughout...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 4, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Study Shows Access to Care Often Difficult for Mesothelioma Patients
When it comes to malignant pleural mesothelioma, not everyone is treated equally. A disparity in access to care makes the difference in mesothelioma treatment quite dramatic, according to the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Patients without access to expert multidisciplinary care at high-volume, academic facilities are being inappropriately undertreated for their disease,” medical oncologist Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “The access is not adequate as it should be for everyone.” Rodriguez led a recent study at University of Miami that lo...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 28, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Chris Elkins Source Type: news

Nivo/Ipi Combo Now'Standard of Care' in Mesothelioma Nivo/Ipi Combo Now'Standard of Care' in Mesothelioma
Patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma have a marked and sustained overall survival benefit with nivolumab and ipilimumab vs chemotherapy, even if they discontinue treatment.Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Hematology-Oncology Headlines)
Source: Medscape Hematology-Oncology Headlines - September 17, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Hematology-Oncology News Source Type: news

Cell therapy partnership between Bay Area biotechs offers hope to cancer patients
Imagine a world in which physicians can confidently cure cancer. Two Bay Area life sciences companies are working together to make this vision a reality. Atara Biotherapeutics Inc., founded in 2012, is developing a pipeline of cell therapies to treat various types of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Bayer is licensing Atara’s cutting-edge cell therapies that t arget certain types of aggressive tumors including mesothelioma, pancreatic, ovarian and non-small-cell lung cancer. “With cancer therapies,… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines - September 16, 2021 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Lauren Lawley Head Source Type: news