Rise in Talc Cases Reshapes Traditional Asbestos Litigation
A recent rise in litigation linking cosmetic talc with mesothelioma and lung cancer will continue throughout 2020, despite companies abandoning the product in the hope of avoiding costly verdicts. The number of legal cases is expected to increase by 10% this year, building on an 11% rise in 2019, according to KCIC, a well-regarded consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., that manages asbestos product liabilities. “A new trend we have started to see is talc allegations showing up in traditional asbestos complaints,” said KCIC Vice President Michelle Potter during a recent webinar that looked at past litigation and fut...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 7, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Cryoablation Study for Mesothelioma Opening at UCLA
Researchers at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center will soon begin studying the pre-surgery use of cryoablation as a potential early adjuvant therapy for patients with pleural mesothelioma. The pilot study will measure immune system stimulation through local tumor infiltration in hopes of extending patient survival in the future. Cryoablation, also known as cryotherapy or cryosurgery, freezes localized tumors with liquid nitrogen or argon gas. It has been proven effective in killing tumor cells with extreme cold. It is currently used on kidney, liver and prostate cancers, but its use in priming a person’s own immun...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 1, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Johnson & Johnson Talc-Asbestos Verdict Upheld, Award Cut
The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a landmark jury verdict that said long-term use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc products, possibly contaminated with asbestos fibers, had caused ovarian cancer in 22 women. The Court of Appeals also reduced the earlier, record-setting award for punitive and compensatory damages from $4.69 billion to $2.1 billion. A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson said the company would appeal again with the Supreme Court of Missouri. Johnson & Johnson has been flooded with more than 19,000 lawsuits in U.S. state and federal courts over its talc products, the majority of which pertain to ovarian...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 25, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Tazemetostat Shows Promise for Pleural Mesothelioma
Five different research groups at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting last month made presentations on the effectiveness of tazemetostat, a novel protein inhibitor, in fighting various cancers. Pleural mesothelioma was one of those cancers in which clear efficacy was demonstrated, raising hopes again for a future second-line therapy option. “It wasn’t the breakthrough you may be looking for, but there is a set of patients now that can benefit from this treatment for a period of time,” Dr. Marianna Koczywas, medical oncologist at City of Hope cancer treatment and research center in California, tol...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 24, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Mesothelioma Chemoperfusion Trial Shows Impressive Results
Study statistics show the benefits of the novel transarterial chemoperfusion treatment being used successfully at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa for patients with relapsed pleural mesothelioma. Russell Lamkins — working on the roof of a neighbor’s house — shows them even better. He is living proof. This latest mesothelioma treatment has potential. Lamkins, 73, was first diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2014. He was the second patient to enroll in the mesothelioma clinical trial in March 2016, soon after standard-of-care chemotherapy and immunotherapy had failed him. “At that point, I had no choice,” he said. P...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 22, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

FDA Approves Keytruda for Certain Mesothelioma Patients
Patients with pleural mesothelioma cancer may have another treatment option after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of pembrolizumab for certain metastatic tumors this week. Pembrolizumab, often known by the brand name Keytruda, is a well-known immunotherapy drug already being used with mixed success for several cancers. This latest FDA approval is for the treatment of adult and pediatric cancers with unresectable disease and high mutational burden that have progressed following prior treatment and have no alternative treatment options. A number of mesothelioma patients already are being treated with p...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 17, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Study Finds Mesothelioma Therapies Underutilized in Women
A multicenter research team of specialists has uncovered a surprising underutilization of treatments for pleural mesothelioma cancer in women. Clinical Lung Cancer recently published the findings, which showed a significant sex-based disparity in the receipt of care for women when compared with that of men. Women were 15% less likely to receive aggressive mesothelioma surgery that has proven its worth in extending lives for this cancer, which has no definitive cure. They also were 20% less likely to receive chemotherapy than were men. “This is concerning, absolutely,” Dr. Charles Simone, chief medical officer at the Ne...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 15, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Major Cosmetic Companies Moving Away from Talc in Makeup
Consumer concerns and the threat of potentially costly lawsuits are driving cosmetic companies away from the long-standing manufacture of talc-based products. Reuters News Service is reporting that Revlon, Chanel and L’Oreal — three of the biggest names in U.S. cosmetics — have been turning quietly to talc alternatives in the last few years. Talc is the softest mineral on Earth and is used ubiquitously in thousands of personal care and cosmetic products to absorb moisture, provide lubrication and improve feel. Unfortunately, talc also is mined near the Earth’s surface in proximity to asbestos, which has led to cont...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 11, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Ramucirumab Shows Promise in Mesothelioma Clinical Trial
Patients with pleural mesothelioma cancer experienced a significant survival advantage when ramucirumab, a novel immunotherapy drug, was added to chemotherapy in a treatment regimen. Ramucirumab, marketed by Eli Lilly and Company as Cyramza, is a monoclonal antibody that works by targeting and restricting a protein that stimulates blood vessel growth within tumors. An ongoing phase II clinical trial in Italy recently reported almost double overall survival rates when ramucirumab was added to gemcitabine in second-line mesothelioma treatment. “These positive data may be the beginning to change the clinical practice in the...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 9, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

COVID-19 Closures Accelerate Asbestos Abatement in Schools
The COVID-19 pandemic closed educational institutions everywhere, but it also opened a door to the acceleration of vitally important asbestos abatement in schools where children would have been in attendance. Business has been booming. “It does look like a lot of schools took advantage of it [the closing of facilities],” Brent Kynoch, managing director of the Environmental Information Association, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “They may have had work contracted for later in the summer, but just said, ‘Let’s get started with it now, and get it done.’ They understood the importance. And that’s a...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 8, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Health Experts Criticize EPA ’s Asbestos Draft Risk Evaluation
Doctors, scientists and occupational health experts from across the country are openly criticizing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent asbestos draft risk evaluation. At a virtual press conference arranged by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization last week, speakers labeled the asbestos evaluation inadequate and in need of serious revision. The year-long evaluation was required as part of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which was passed in 2016. It amended the original Toxic Substances Control Act, the country’s primary chemicals management law. “I am concerned t...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 2, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Durvalumab Phase III Trial Could Change Mesothelioma Care
An international, much-anticipated phase III clinical trial that could change standard-of-care treatment for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma will open soon, pending COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The randomized trial will be studying the effectiveness of the immunotherapy drug durvalumab (Imfinzi) when used in combination with chemotherapy drugs pemetrexed (Alimta) and cisplatin for mesothelioma. Opening dates may vary by center because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has slowed or stalled clinical trials everywhere. Durvalumab produces an antibody that helps a patient’s own immune system kill tumor cells by...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 28, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Mesothelioma Specialist Brings HIPEC Expertise to Stanford
Surgical oncologist and mesothelioma specialist Dr. Byrne Lee spent close to a decade in Southern California, building a well-respected peritoneal surface malignancy program at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. He wants to build a bigger and better one now — second to none — almost 400 miles away. The quest is well underway. Lee, 45, joined the renowned Stanford Cancer Institute in October 2019 with a well-defined vision: Helping an elite academic institution become even better with a program for a previously underserved population. “I had a great career in Los Angeles. I’m proud of that program, the legacy...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 26, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

Johnson & Johnson Ends Talc-Based Baby Powder Sales in US, Canada
Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday that it will stop selling its iconic, talc-based baby powder, the target of thousands of lawsuits claiming that its talc was contaminated with asbestos, which led to cancers such as mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. The company said the stoppage is only in the United States and Canada, citing a decline in consumer demand and “misinformation” about the safety of the product. “Demand for talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 20, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news

New Tests Find Asbestos-Contaminated Talc in Eyeshadow
The Scientific Analytical Institute in Greensboro, North Carolina, recently uncovered asbestos-contaminated talc in two new eyeshadow makeup products sold online on sites like Amazon and eBay. Its findings were the latest example in a growing list of talc-based cosmetic products found to contain toxic asbestos. Scientific Analytical Institute found asbestos fibers in 40% of the shades tested in Jmkcoz 120 Colors Eyeshadow Palette. It found traces of asbestos in 20% of the shades tested in the Beauty Glazed Gorgeous Me Eye Shadow Tray Palette. The results were released by the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.,...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - May 19, 2020 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Source Type: news