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
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
2021 ADAO Asbestos Awareness Conference Runs Sept. 17-18
The 16th Annual International Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference takes place Sept. 17-18, featuring 40 speakers from seven countries plus the first-ever Art, Advocacy and Shared Stories film festival.
This virtual event is open to all free of charge, requiring only an online registration. It is designed to educate the public about the dangers of asbestos, intensify efforts to ban asbestos, and aid in research to improve treatment for asbestos diseases, including mesothelioma cancer.
Sponsoring the event is the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, an independent nonprofit regarded as the world’s leadin...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 16, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Mesothelioma Research, COVID Findings Featured at IASLC Conference
This study, performed during the pre-vaccine period of the pandemic, once again demonstrates the importance of vaccination against COVID-19,” said Dr. Susana Cedres, a medical oncologist with Vall d’Hebron Hospital. “Malignant pleural mesothelioma patients are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.”
Cedres said since the subsequent rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, no positive cases have been attributed to pleural mesothelioma patients at the hospital.
The average age of the seven patients was 62. All had the epithelioid histology of mesothelioma and two were receiving oncologic treatment at the time of diagnos...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 15, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Ramucirumab Shows Survival Benefits with Pleural Mesothelioma
Adding the drug ramucirumab to gemcitabine chemotherapy worked especially well in a recent clinical trial involving second-line treatment for patients with pleural mesothelioma.
Ramucirumab, an immunotherapy drug also known by the brand name Cyramza, is a monoclonal antibody that works by targeting and restricting a protein that stimulates blood vessel growth within tumors.
Impressive results in the phase II clinical trial moved the drug combination closer to filling the long-standing void for a second-line mesothelioma treatment.
The Lancet Oncology recently published results of the study, which was conducted in ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 13, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
New Report Details 9/11 Health Effects on FDNY Firefighters
A recent report from the Fire Department of New York World Trade Center Health Program outlines the 9/11-related health effects firefighters are dealing with 20 years later.
Approximately 410,000 first responders spent the days and weeks after 9/11 inhaling toxic materials as they helped save lives from the collapse of the Twin Towers. Almost 3,000 people died on Sept. 11, 2001, but in the 20 years since, another 4,343 survivors have died due to related health effects.
FDNY has felt the impact of delayed illness, as well. While 343 FDNY firefighters died on 9/11, another 254 have died since then from 9/11-related dis...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 9, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
NYC Mayor Waives Asbestos Fees in Response to Hurricane Ida
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has waived fees for asbestos removal as part of the recovery response to Hurricane Ida. The mayor also waived the seven-day advance notice requirement for asbestos projects.
De Blasio signed Emergency Executive Order No. 235 on Sept. 7, allowing the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Buildings to waive fees and advance notification requirements for various permits and applications related to storm damage repair. The order remains in effect for five days unless it is terminated or modified.
These measures are intended to relieve an additional burde...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 9, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Mesothelioma Treatment Program Expanding in Central Florida
When he first joined AdventHealth Orlando in 2019, thoracic surgeon Dr. Marcelo DaSilva wondered just how successful he could be in creating a mesothelioma specialty center in Central Florida.
Now he knows.
DaSilva was initially hoping to create a program that would allow Florida mesothelioma patients to stay closer to home – instead of traveling across the country – and still get the best possible treatment for this rare, tough-to-treat malignancy.
But he’s already done considerably more. His vision has grown, and so has his program. More patients will benefit greatly.
DaSilva recently expanded his progr...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - September 8, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Study: Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment Effective with Peritoneal Disease
We report the first real-world evidence regarding clinical outcomes for a cohort of patients with advanced MPeM receiving ICIs,” the MD Anderson study authors wrote. “Our results provide much-needed data supporting the role of ICIs in patients with this rare disease, who cannot participate in clinical trials and otherwise have no or limited treatment options.”
The post Study: Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment Effective with Peritoneal Disease appeared first on Mesothelioma Center - Vital Services for Cancer Patients & Families. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 31, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
