Johnson & Johnson Ends Worldwide Sale of Talc-Based Baby Powder
Against the wishes of its shareholders, Johnson & Johnson announced Aug. 11 that it would end the worldwide sale of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in 2023.
The company had already discontinued the sale of the talc-based version of its iconic baby powder in the U.S. and Canada in 2020 when it became the target of thousands of lawsuits. Most claimed J&J’s talc was contaminated with toxic asbestos and causing serious health problems, including mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.
Instead of using talc, the company will transition to a cornstarch-based product, which already is being sold in several countries a...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 15, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Legal Source Type: news
Camp Lejeune Veterans Win Justice
On Wednesday, Aug. 10, President Joe Biden signed the comprehensive Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022 into law, allowing military veterans and families harmed by contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune to file lawsuits against the federal government.
The Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022, which focuses on four decades of water contamination, is just one part of the much broader PACT Act, which expands access to health care and disability benefits for veterans harmed by toxic exposures around the world.
Biden lauded the bipartisan support for the PACT Act at the signing.
“There are a lot of issues we can...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 10, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Chris Elkins Tags: Veterans Source Type: news
Specialty Centers Treating Mesothelioma Lead Best Hospitals Rankings
Mesothelioma specialty programs played a significant role in determining the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals for Cancer Care annual rankings.
For the eighth consecutive year, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston was ranked No. 1, followed by Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York; Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; Dana Farber/Brigham and Women’s in Boston and UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“This ranking is a reminder of our responsibility to those we serve, and it drives our unwavering commitment to our mission to end cancer,” said Dr. Peter WT Pisters, president of MD Anderson. “We a...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 10, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Doctors/Specialists Mesothelioma Treatment Source Type: news
Study Suggests Relationship Between Stromal Tumors and Mesothelioma
Early identification of peritoneal mesothelioma cancer – when it is most effectively treated – may become more common after a recent study revealed a potential link to gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
A single-center retrospective review by the division of surgical oncology at University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center identified a previously underrecognized, synchronous co-occurrence between the two rare diseases.
Annals of Surgical Oncology published the case series in July, which found that one in every 17 patients undergoing resection for gastrointestinal stromal tumors, known as GISTs, also had ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - August 2, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Peritoneal Source Type: news
WHO Reclassifies Firefighting as High-Risk Occupation for Cancer
The World Health Organization has reclassified firefighting to its highest level of occupational risk for cancer after extensive research confirmed an alarming level of malignant mesothelioma incidence.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of WHO, found that firefighters had a 58% higher risk than the general population of developing mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers.
These findings led to the occupation being reclassified recently as “carcinogenic to humans,” earning it Group 1 status for cancer risk and confirming what many already believed.
“This r...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 28, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news
UK Approves Opdivo/Yervoy Immunotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma
Patients with unresectable pleural mesothelioma cancer throughout the United Kingdom will now have the immunotherapy combination of Opdivo and Yervoy as an option after its recent approval by the National Health Service for first-line treatment.
The long-awaited approval comes almost two years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted a similar approval of Opdivo and Yervoy. It brings new hope to a region particularly hard hit by this rare cancer caused primarily by exposure to asbestos.
Opdivo and Yervoy, known generically as nivolumab and ipilimumab, respectively, are manufactured by Bristol Myers Squibb....
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 27, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Immunotherapy Mesothelioma Treatment Source Type: news
Study: Those Exposed to Asbestos Should Not Take Beta-Carotene
Taking beta-carotene health supplements could increase the risk of lung cancer or death from cardiovascular disease for anyone who is regularly exposed to asbestos, according to a panel of medicine experts.
Based on existing scientific evidence, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded recently that the potential harms of beta-carotene supplements outweigh any benefits, particularly for those with occupational exposure to asbestos.
The task force, an independent group of medical volunteers, makes recommendations about clinical preventive services. In the same report, it also said vitamin E provided no benefi...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 25, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Source Type: news
MARF to Host International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma
Leading medical specialists will gather with mesothelioma patients, families, friends and advocates at the much-anticipated 2022 International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma, July 23, in Chicago. This is an event well worth attending.
The day-long symposium will be held at Summit Chicago, a welcoming venue where a wide range of mesothelioma experts will be speaking on related topics and mixing with all those who attend.
This is the first in-person gathering for the annual event since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the symposium will be available for viewing virtually, free of charge, for those un...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 20, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Awareness/Advocacy Mesothelioma Peritoneal Pleural Treatment Source Type: news
New Study Underscores Importance of Worldwide Asbestos Ban
The push for a worldwide ban on asbestos gained momentum recently with the latest study linking national consumption levels of the toxic mineral with corresponding levels of asbestos-related diseases.
An ecological association between asbestos and asbestos-related diseases was made in 70 countries, doubling the number found in a similar study released in 2007.
Environmental Health Perspectives, a well-respected monthly research journal supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, published the report in May 2022. The Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, based in Australia, authored the study...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 18, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news
Researchers in Japan Study Inhalable Gene Therapy for Mesothelioma
This study suggests that inhalable gene drugs are effective treatments for NSCLC and MPM,” the authors wrote. “These findings suggest that cancer gene therapy using inhalable drugs may constitute a novel therapeutic regimen and improve patients’ qualify of life owing to the low invasiveness of the mode of administration.”
Effective, Noninvasive Treatment Is Rare
Aggressive treatment for mesothelioma is hard on patients, and may lead to a significantly decreased quality of life. Major mesothelioma surgery can be physically overwhelming and its side effects long-lasting. Standard-of-care chemotherapy, the most ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 12, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Pleural Source Type: news
Drug Repurposing Study Could Identify New Mesothelioma Treatments
The next breakthrough in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma may be quietly underway.
An international research team based at Temple University in Philadelphia recently identified four drug compounds – already being used safely for noncancerous conditions – that have shown impressive potential for treating mesothelioma. They were part of a novel drug repurposing project aimed at uncovering much-needed options for mesothelioma patients.
“Mesothelioma has shown resistance to all current treatments, including immunotherapy. Novel combinations are badly needed now,” Dr. Antonio Giordano, director of Sbarro He...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 6, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Mesothelioma Source Type: news
EPA Finalizes Asbestos Risk Evaluation Goals with Part 2 Assessment
Utilizing recent public feedback, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized its strategy and goals for the much-anticipated Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2.
Its final scope document, released June 29, clarified the EPA’s intentions, which will build on the previously released and much-maligned Part 1. A broader Part 2 will be published late in 2024.
The risk evaluation stems from the EPA’s designation of asbestos as one of the first 10 chemicals to be reviewed under the 2016 amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act.
Although only one evaluation for asbestos was planned originally, the EPA add...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - July 1, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Asbestos Exposure Source Type: news
Toronto Cancer Center Hosts SMARTEST Mesothelioma Clinical Trial
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto recently opened a first-of-its-kind clinical trial that hopes to build on earlier pioneering efforts to turn pleural mesothelioma into a more manageable, potentially survivable disease. Expectations are high.
This single-center phase II clinical trial is named SMARTEST, and follows in the wake of earlier mesothelioma trials SMART and SMARTER in Toronto. SMARTEST is an acronym for Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy using Exquisite Systemic Therapy.
“The hope is that we find an effective therapy with little toxicity. That’s the dream for every cancer doctor,...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 28, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Source Type: news
Mesothelioma Clinical Trials Test Targeted Gene Therapy
For some patients, the future of mesothelioma cancer treatment may hinge on a pair of phase I clinical trials that opened earlier this year to study promising new drugs targeting specific genetic mutations.
Precision medicine may finally be taking hold with malignant mesothelioma, clearing the path for significant, long-overdue advancements.
The one-size-fits-all approach is fading.
“There is some realistic hope now for patients,” Dr. Anthony Tolcher, co-founder of NEXT Oncology in San Antonio, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “I am very optimistic. New avenues for treatment are opening up.”
...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 21, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Fran Mannino Tags: Clinical Trials/Research/Emerging Treatments Source Type: news
Asbestos Abatement Laws Being Enforced
Cities and counties throughout the country are paying the price for failing to adhere to the tightening safety protocols that cover the handling and disposal of toxic asbestos in existing structures.
Dothan, Alabama, became the latest city to pay for its negligence, agreeing to a $3,000 settlement with the state’s Department of Environmental Management, stemming from its failure to get a proper asbestos-abatement inspection.
The city, which is in the middle of a downtown rebuilding project, demolished five structures recently, but only had one commercial building properly inspected. The other four were residential,...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - June 17, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Authors: Sophia Clifton Tags: Asbestos (general) Source Type: news
