Latest KCIC Report Finds Decline in Mesothelioma Lawsuits
The number of mesothelioma lawsuits filed in 2020 dropped significantly, while cases involving lung cancer continued to increase, according to a recent study reflecting the changing face of asbestos litigation.
KCIC, a well-respected consulting firm in Washington, D.C., that manages asbestos product liabilities, released its industry report Thursday.
Asbestos legal filings, covering both malignant and nonmalignant disease in the United States, dropped 11% from 2019 to 2020, from 4,137 to 3,685 cases, respectively.
Most prominently, there was a 9% increase in asbestos-related lung cancer filings, but a 14% decrease...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 12, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Source Type: news
Phase III Trial of Durvalumab for Mesothelioma Underway
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will be closely watching the latest, international phase III clinical trial for unresectable pleural mesothelioma involving the immunotherapy drug durvalumab.
FDA approval may be coming soon.
“It looks very promising,” Dr. Arkadiusz Dudek, of Regions Hospital Cancer Care Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “The hope is to have the regimen approved by the FDA as front-line therapy. There is a real need today for more options with mesothelioma.”
The goal of the randomized trial – officially known as DREAM3R – is to determine h...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - April 1, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
COVID Vaccine Gives Less Protection for Some Cancer Patients
Millions of people across the United States have begun receiving their COVID-19 vaccines, and restrictions are lifting in many public spaces such as restaurants and bars.
Mesothelioma patients may be looking forward to returning to life as it was before the pandemic. However, a new study reports that the COVID-19 vaccine may not sufficiently protect patients with compromised or weakened immune systems.
The study results suggest that people with cancer or who are undergoing cancer treatment may still be highly vulnerable to COVID-19 even after their vaccination.
Researchers published their findings earlier this m...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 30, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Thoracic Surgeon Raja Flores Enters NYC Mayor ’s Race
Thoracic surgeon and mesothelioma specialist Dr. Raja Flores wants to continue serving others, but in a new role as the next mayor of New York City.
“Yes, I’m serious about this. Very serious,” Flores told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com Tuesday after another 14-hour workday and an evening surgery at Mount Sinai. “I want to take care of this city that has taken such good care of me.”
Flores, the esteemed chairman of thoracic surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital, filed his official eligibility petition last week with the New York City Board of Elections.
He listed himself as an independent, joining mor...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 25, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Source Type: news
Some Mesothelioma Patients May Benefit from Second Radical Surgery
This study should elicit a call of hands for centers to share their experiences, to say either do it, or not do it,” Elsayed said. “Right now, you just don’t find a good number of centers doing that second operation.”
Earlier Mesothelioma Surgery Studies
This most recent report focused on three smaller studies totaling 40 patients involved in a second major surgery with a curative intent for mesothelioma.
In the first group of 16 patients, there was a median survival of 20.4 months after the second surgery for those with epithelial cell type, but only 7.4 months survival for those with biphasic subty...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 17, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
U.S. Asbestos Imports Increased Significantly in 2020
An estimated 300 metric tons of raw chrysotile asbestos was imported into the U.S. in 2020, almost doubling the amount from 2019, according to the recent United States Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries report.
The chloralkali industry accounted for 100% of the imports, all from Brazil. This industry uses the asbestos in the manufacturing of semipermeable diaphragms for making chlorine.
Asbestos import numbers were the second smallest in more than 50 years and only a fraction of the all-time high of 803,000 tons reported in 1973.
Also imported into the United States, but not included in the report, is a...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 15, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
New Link Between Women with Mesothelioma and Survival Genes
Men with mesothelioma outnumber women four to one. However, numerous studies have shown that women with mesothelioma often have a survival advantage over men. Now, scientists might have a better understanding of why.
Researchers have identified a gene that predicts the prognosis and treatment outcome for women with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The research took place as part of the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Dr. Assunta De Rienzo led the new study after years of research highlighting the sex-based disparity among mesothelioma patients.
“The goal is finding ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 10, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Legal Fight Continues Over Asbestos Disease in Libby, Mont.
The Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana, dodged a potential setback recently when officials from the U.S. Department of Justice decided against joining a lawsuit alleging fraudulent medical practices.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway filed the original suit in 2019 against the center – known as the CARD Clinic – alleging Medicare fraud that included unnecessary screenings and misdiagnosing patients with various asbestos-related diseases.
The railroad giant is facing more than a thousand asbestos-related injury claims stemming from its transportation of asbestos-laden products through its railyard ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - March 5, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Johnson & Johnson Preparing $3.9 Billion for Talc Settlements
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has set aside $3.9 billion for talc-related litigation, according to a regulatory filing this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington D.C.
The company said it’s now facing more than 25,000 lawsuits related to various talc products that have allegedly caused cancers, primarily from asbestos fiber contamination.
The $3.9 billion is almost double the amount that Johnson & Johnson reported being set aside for litigation expenses in its 2020 fiscal year-end results.
A Missouri Court of Appeals earlier last year upheld a lower-court ruling, but reduced the...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 24, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Source Type: news
Study: Which Mesothelioma Patients Will Immunotherapy Benefit?
This study also is designed to better understand the biological mechanisms affecting the immune system.
The goal is to use both the cellular organization and molecular pathways to develop a test that can predict the response to the checkpoint inhibitor drugs. Upon completion, a clinical trial would follow, in which treatment would depend on the results of the individual’s test.
“Within the next year or two, we’ll have a good idea of whether these components are working,” Burt said.
The post Study: Which Mesothelioma Patients Will Immunotherapy Benefit? appeared first on Mesothelioma Center - Vital S...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 23, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Source Type: news
Winter Storm Delays Cancer Treatment Across U.S.
Severe winter storms have affected multiple central U.S. states with power outages and water supply disruptions. State officials in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi say restoring power to everyone could still take several days.
Over the past week, problems with state infrastructure left millions of residents across Texas and Oklahoma without heat and potable water.
Dr. Raja Flores, a thoracic surgeon at Mount Sinai Cancer Center in New York, says the weather has also affected cancer patients in his area. “With the storm, many services are not available,” Dr. Flores told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com.
...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 22, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Source Type: news
FDA Fast-Tracks Mesothelioma Vaccine Development
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast-Track Designation this week to ONCOS-102, an immunotherapy vaccine that targets malignant mesothelioma and other hard-to-treat tumors.
This designation is expected to expedite the regulatory approval process. The vaccine’s developer, Targovax, a small biotech company that focuses on oncolytic viruses, sees this as an early endorsement from the FDA.
“Yes, this opens the door for us,” Dr. Magnus Jaderberg, chief medical officer of Targovax, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “It validates what the FDA believes is a potentially promising drug for this d...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Amy Edel Source Type: news
Research Reinforces Gene Mutation Links to Mesothelioma
More than ever, Dr. Michele Carbone at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center believes early testing for genetic mutations can lead to fewer cases of malignant mesothelioma and a longer survival time for many who do contract the disease.
Lives can be saved. Years can be added.
“It could change the way we treat these patients,” Carbone told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “And, in some cases, it could prevent the cancer entirely.”
Carbone is director of thoracic oncology at University of Hawaii and a world leader in identifying the role of genetics in the development of mesothelioma cancer.
He led a team of...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 11, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
Mesothelioma Still Prevalent in Canada Following Asbestos Ban
More than two years after implementing a much-celebrated ban of asbestos, Canadians have come to realize the real fight has only just begun.
Malignant mesothelioma cancer isn’t going away any time soon.
Asbestos exposure may be the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma, but the nationwide ban of the toxic mineral is not predicted to slow the rise in cases for decades.
It is expected to change the face of those being diagnosed.
“It’s going to be awhile before we see any major decline in numbers,” Dr. Paul Demers, director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre at Ontario Health, told The Mesothelioma Center at As...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - February 8, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news
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
