Study: Early Mesothelioma HIPEC Surgery Extends Survival
Sooner is better when it comes to aggressively treating peritoneal mesothelioma cancer with a combination of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.
Waiting could cost a patient months of survival. Rejecting surgery could cost them years.
The Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery published a study in November that showed for the first time to what degree a delay in having the mesothelioma surgery, or not getting it at all, can affect overall survival for patients.
Results of the mesothelioma study were presented earlier this year at the annual Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - December 8, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Peritoneal Surgical procedures Source Type: news
VA Disability Rates Rise; Veterans With Mesothelioma Benefit
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has increased its monthly payments to disabled veterans by 8.7%, the largest annual increase in 40 years.
Veterans who developed disabilities caused by asbestos exposure during military service – including mesothelioma cancer – are among those receiving the increase, which began on Dec. 1.
VA disability payout increases are based on the latest cost of living adjustment done annually by the Social Security Administration.
Soaring inflation and rising prices prompted the much-needed increase.
“After a year of historic inflation, it’s great to see the federal governm...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - December 6, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Veterans Source Type: news
Honeywell to Fund Asbestos Trust With $1.3 Billion
To eliminate future funding obligations, Honeywell International Inc. has agreed to a one-time, lump sum payment of $1.325 billion to the asbestos trust fund it first established in 2013.
If approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the buyout agreement would likely end any additional asbestos-related liabilities for Honeywell.
The payment is a significant investment toward future financial stability for the industrial giant, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Honeywell’s costly asbestos trust fund obligation stems from North American Refractories Company, which it...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - November 28, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Legal Trust Funds Source Type: news
Looking Beyond Clinical Trials for Mesothelioma Treatment
Clinical trial results should not always be the guiding force when a mesothelioma cancer patient and their medical team determine what therapy path to take, according to one recent study. A look at real-world populations might be just as important.
A research team at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine has made the point with a retrospective, observational analysis of second-line treatment for pleural mesothelioma.
The analysis came on the heels of a multicenter clinical trial from the European Thoracic Oncology Platform that evaluated the efficacy of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an immunotherapy drug,...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - November 22, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news
Global Mesothelioma Cases Nearly Double Over 30 Years
The number of people in the world diagnosed annually with mesothelioma cancer has almost doubled in the last 30 years, accentuating the need for more effective and better coordinated efforts to end this preventable, global health problem.
Almost 35,000 people were diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2019, compared to an estimated 19,000 in 1990, according to a study by the Clinical Research Center at Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology published the study in September. It is believed to be the most comprehensive and recent evaluation of the annual incidence and mortality rate for mes...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - November 17, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news
For Camp Lejeune Victims Exposed to Toxic Water, a New Law Promises Compensation —and Closure
Many of Ann Johnson’s life milestones were marked at Camp Lejeune, a sprawling U.S. Marine Corps base camp on the North Carolina coast. She moved to the base in 1982, when her stepfather was stationed there. In 1983, she graduated from Camp Lejeune High School. In 1984, she got married and, at the age of 18, gave birth to her first child at the on-base hospital.
Johnson had a difficult pregnancy, gaining 120 pounds due to a complication that leads to excess amniotic fluid. In retrospect, she says, this was the first sign that something was wrong. Then, on the day her daughter, Jacquetta, was born, she didn’t cr...
Source: TIME: Health - November 16, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jamie Ducharme Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news
Latest Study Compares Major Pleural Mesothelioma Surgeries
Mesothelioma patients may benefit more from aggressive extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery than from the lung-sparing pleurectomy and decortication currently being recommended as an alternative by many specialists today.
According to the most recent study from Italy, extrapleural pneumonectomy, or EPP, allowed mesothelioma patients diagnosed with high symptom burden to live a longer, better-quality life than with the more popular pleurectomy and decortication surgery, also known as P/D.
Journal of Clinical Medicine published the latest report on Oct. 29, authored by thoracic oncology specialists at Tor Vergata Univers...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - November 15, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Surgical procedures Source Type: news
Congress Resumes Asbestos Ban Efforts After ProPublica Report
This report confirms our worst fears. Workers dealing with asbestos are often left vulnerable to this deadly, dangerous substance.”
Merkley and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, also of Oregon, are co-sponsoring the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2022, which would ban any importation or use of asbestos. It is the most comprehensive asbestos ban legislation to come before Congress in more than 30 years. All previous legislative attempts have failed to advance.
Ban Asbestos Now Act Gains Co-Sponsors
This latest bill was filed in May and had one Senate committee hearing in June before it was shelved. Since the pu...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - November 7, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news
New Research Focuses on Mesothelioma Brain Metastasis
Distant metastasis is common with malignant pleural mesothelioma – more than 60% of patients experience it – but rarely is it found around the brain.
A new study by a team of radiation oncologists in Great Britain, however, suggests that physicians should increase their focus on potential cerebral metastasis in mesothelioma patients.
“Patients will continue to live longer as a consequence of newer, more advanced treatments,” the study authors wrote. “It is critical now to recognize mesothelioma’s metastatic potential, particularly cerebral metastasis, which was previously only an autopsy finding.”
T...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - November 3, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Pleural Source Type: news
' Drug factory' implants eliminate mesothelioma tumors in mice
Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have shown they can eradicate advanced-stage mesothelioma tumors in mice in just a few days with a treatment combining Rice ' s cytokine " drug factory " implants and a checkpoint inhibitor … (Source: NSF News)
Source: NSF News - October 19, 2022 Category: Science Authors: NSF Source Type: news
Latest Mesothelioma T-Cell Clinical Trial Moves to Phase II
The most recent T-cell therapy aimed at mesothelioma cancer has advanced to phase II of the clinical trial process, with researchers exploring its effectiveness when combined with an already approved immunotherapy duet.
Investigators are studying the synergistic effect of gavocabtagene autoleucel (gavo-cel) when used with the combination of Opdivo and Yervoy, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 to treat mesothelioma.
Its earlier phase I results, when used alone, were impressive – 93% of patients experienced tumor regression – raising hopes for a much-needed advancement in mesotheli...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 17, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Lynette Zilio Source Type: news
Study: Cancer Enzyme Slows Growth of Pleural Mesothelioma
Patients with pleural mesothelioma may extend their survival by an estimated 30% when the latest anti-cancer enzyme is added to standard chemotherapy, according to a recently completed study.
AGI-PEG 20 showed unprecedented effectiveness when treating patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma and biphasic mesothelioma – the most treatment-resistant subtypes – in an international, multicenter, phase II/III clinical trial known as ATOMIC Meso.
The enzyme works by limiting an amino acid known as arginine that often fuels tumor cells. It depletes its effectiveness in promoting tumor growth, leading to longer survival. ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 13, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Orphan Drug Designation Given to New Mesothelioma CAR T-Cell Therapy
In early 2023, the world-class Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania will open a groundbreaking clinical trial for mesothelioma patients utilizing a next-generation immunotherapy with a novel delivery platform.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the path in September by granting orphan drug designation for SynKIR-110, a CAR T-cell therapy designed to target solid tumors expressing a specific protein typically found in mesothelioma cancer.
By granting the orphan drug designation, the FDA can provide financial incentives such as tax credits for clinical trials and seven years of market exclusivity. It i...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 5, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Rare Mesothelioma Cancer Discovered in Quarter Horse
No one is immune to the effects of toxic asbestos fibers, the primary cause of mesothelioma cancer. Not even horses.
Although mesothelioma is a rare cancer in humans, it is even more rare in animals, particularly horses that spend most of their time grazing outdoors. But it still happens.
Both pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma cancer were identified during the autopsy of a 22-year-old gelding quarter horse that had spent much of its working life in equestrian tourism activities.
Animals, an international peer-reviewed journal devoted to veterinary sciences, detailed the rare mesothelioma case report...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - October 4, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
U.S. Court of Appeals Hears Challenge to J & J ’s Bankruptcy Plan
Johnson & Johnson’s controversial bankruptcy filing, designed to limit its soaring talc liabilities, was challenged Sept. 26 before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.
A three-judge panel heard oral arguments on whether Johnson & Johnson should be permitted to shift billions of dollars in mass tort liabilities to a newly created entity, which immediately filed for bankruptcy.
The court’s decision is not expected until later in 2022. Regardless of the outcome, several legal experts believe yet another appeal will be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Attorneys repre...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 28, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
