Opdivo Study Offers Hope to Relapsed Mesothelioma Patients
A recent study out of the United Kingdom finds patients with relapsed malignant mesothelioma can be treated effectively with single-agent nivolumab, safely improving overall and progression-free survival.
Nivolumab, also known by the brand name Opdivo, is an immunotherapy drug already being used successfully with non-small cell lung cancer.
It is the first drug to show a significant survival advantage for relapsed mesothelioma in a phase III clinical trial, according to principal investigator Dr. Dean Fennell, medical oncologist at the University of Leicester in England.
“This is very encouraging news,” Fennell told Th...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 4, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Researchers: Mesothelioma Trials Need More Inclusive Criteria
Clinical trials for mesothelioma need more inclusive criteria to better reflect the patients being seen at major cancer treatment centers, according to a recent study conducted in Sydney, Australia.
The study demonstrated a significant difference between those carefully selected for clinical trials and real-world patients with pleural mesothelioma.
“A broader patient population more resembling real life would be able to access the novel treatment early,” Dr. Steven Kao, medical oncologist at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse hospital and one of the study authors, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “And when the tr...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 2, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Nivolumab Improves Survival in Relapsed Mesothelioma Nivolumab Improves Survival in Relapsed Mesothelioma
In the first placebo-controlled phase 3 trial in relapsed mesothelioma, immunotherapy with nivolumab showed a significant improvement in survival.Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Hematology-Oncology Headlines)
Source: Medscape Hematology-Oncology Headlines - February 2, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Hematology-Oncology News Source Type: news
New weapon in battle with cancer caused by asbestos
Results from a trial show the drug nivolumab can help keep the aggressive disease mesothelioma at bay for months or even years. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - January 30, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Nivolumab effective treatment for malignant mesothelioma
(International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer) Nivolumab monotherapy is an effective treatment option for relapsed malignant mesothelioma (MM), according to research presented today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer World Conference on Lung Cancer. (Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer)
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - January 30, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news
EPA ’s Asbestos Risk Evaluation Faces Litigation
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization continued its challenge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, filing a petition for review Jan. 26 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and an intent to sue notice under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
ADAO, the leading nonprofit aimed at preventing asbestos exposure and raising awareness about mesothelioma, was joined by five public health groups and six doctors and scientists in its latest filings.
The petition for review is aimed at the EPA’s Final Risk Evaluation for Asbestos from earlier this month that was roundly criticized for underestimating the ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - January 27, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Study: Mesothelioma Survival Rates Rise with SMART Protocol
Using accelerated high-dose radiation prior to surgery produced an unprecedented 65.9-month median survival for a cohort of pleural mesothelioma patients who were part of a larger clinical trial at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.
Lancet Oncology recently published results of the study, named SMART, an acronym for Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy.
The SMART study involved 96 patients with pleural mesothelioma who were treated in Toronto from 2008 to 2019. All received the intensity-modulated radiotherapy before extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery, an unconventional treatment regimen.
Among the...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - January 21, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Thoracic Chemotherapy May Advance Mesothelioma Treatment
Thoracic surgeon Dr. Marcello Migliore is convinced that adding hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy to aggressive surgery can extend survival significantly for patients with pleural mesothelioma cancer.
He wants others to know that, too.
This seldom-used, controversial procedure, also known as HITHOC, involves circulating a heated, high-concentration chemotherapy solution throughout the chest cavity for 60 minutes immediately following aggressive mesothelioma surgery.
The idea is to kill any microscopic tumor cells that evaded the surgeon, hopefully slowing a potential cancer recurrence.
Unlike HIPEC, a similar procedu...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - January 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Statins May Give Boost to Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Drugs
This study, which included both patients with pleural mesothelioma and with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, found a potential synergy with the immunotherapy drugs.
Opdivo and Keytruda, generically called nivolumab and pembrolizumab, respectively, are known as PD-1 inhibitors, drugs that restrict a protein from stopping immune response to cancer cells.
“Statins may lead to prolonged antigen retention on cell membrane and strengthen antigen presentation to T cells, thus suggesting a potential synergy with PD-1 inhibitors,” the authors wrote. “The anti-tumor effect of statins might be attributed to an indirect immu...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - January 7, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
EPA Evaluation Finds Asbestos Still An Unreasonable Risk
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released Part 1 of its Final Risk Evaluation for Asbestos, reaffirming preliminary findings from March that were roundly criticized for underestimating the dangers of exposure to this toxic mineral.
Six ongoing use categories of asbestos were evaluated by the EPA, which found 16 conditions of use that presented unreasonable risk to human health through either occupational exposures or consumer uses.
Part 1 of the evaluation, released in late December 2020, involved the chrysotile type of asbestos. Chrysotile is the only type of asbestos being imported, processed or distributed for u...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - January 6, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
What Is the Main Cause of Mesothelioma
? (Source: eMedicineHealth.com)
Source: eMedicineHealth.com - December 30, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: news
Judge Rules EPA Must Tighten Asbestos Data Collection
United States District Judge Edward Chen has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to improve its data collection on the amount of asbestos and asbestos products that are coming into the country.
Chen issued his ruling Tuesday in San Francisco, stemming from a lawsuit brought against the EPA by a group of nonprofit organizations wanting to close the current asbestos reporting loopholes.
The EPA has contended that the voluntary reporting today by manufacturers, processors and importers provided adequate data.
“EPA has not articulated a satisfactory explanation for its decision not to use its significant enforcement ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - December 23, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Top 10 Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Stories of 2020
Growing allegations of asbestos-contaminated talc in various consumer products, coupled with historic approval of a new treatment for pleural mesothelioma, made 2020 a year filled with both anxiety and hope.
Johnson & Johnson stopped selling its iconic baby powder in May after being hit by thousands of lawsuits contending its talc-based product was causing various cancers, including ovarian cancer and malignant mesothelioma.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the immunotherapy combination of Opdivo and Yervoy in October, the first new drug regimen approved for first-line treatment of unresectable disease in...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - December 15, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Differentiation of the Cs in lung cancer: Cancer vs. COVID, British Thoracic Society
Urgent referrals for cancer in general and for lung cancer specifically have fallen during the COVID-19 pandemic that will likely lead to an increase in mortality and morbidity from lung cancer. The appendix reproduces a submission by the Clinical Expert Group for lung cancer and mesothelioma which includes recommendations about differentiation of symptoms from lung cancer from those due to COVID-19 and recommendations for easy access of patients with concerning symptoms for assessment by primary care. (Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH))
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - December 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Study: Immunotherapy Vaccine for Mesothelioma Still Promising
The ONCOS-102 immunotherapy vaccine continues its move toward future, first-line standard of care treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma, based upon the latest study follow-up data.
When combined with standard chemotherapy, the genetically modified adenovirus has produced a median overall survival of at least 18.2 months, according to results released in late November from the ongoing clinical trial.
Median overall survival was more than four months better than the control group receiving chemotherapy alone in the randomized trial.
ONCOS-102 is manufactured by Targovax, a small Scandinavian biotech company focused on...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - December 3, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
