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Stanford Offering New Minimally Invasive PITAC Procedure for Mesothelioma
In what is a first in North America, Northern California’s Stanford Medicine has announced that thoracic surgeon Dr. Leah Backhus performed the first PITAC procedure for mesothelioma. The groundbreaking minimally invasive operation offers real hope for patients who are not candidates for more aggressive surgery.
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Mesothelioma Treatment Receives Second Orphan Drug Designation
Two months after receiving Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Orion Pharma’s investigational drug ODM-212 has received the same benefit from the European Commission. This significant development means the treatment will receive significant incentives on both sides of the Atlantic, offering real hope for its promising new approach to treating…
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UK Court Approves Group Litigation for Mesothelioma & Ovarian Cancer Claims Against J&J
As is true in the United States, thousands of United Kingdom citizens who’ve been diagnosed with mesothelioma and ovarian cancer blame asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder for their illnesses. In what has now become the largest product liability case in British history, the country’s High Court has approved a Group Litigation Order…
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Company Fined $500,000 for Asbestos Violations and Mesothelioma Risk
A redevelopment firm that knowingly exposed workers to the risk of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis has been ordered to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and to serve two years of probation. Applied Partners LLC, admitted to starting demolition work at a former automotive plant in Saginaw, Michigan, without first completing asbestos remediation. The federal…
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AI Performance in Measuring Mesothelioma Tumors Will Transform Treatment Decisions
According to a study published in The Lancet Oncology, physicians and researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute have developed an Artificial Intelligence model that outperforms human doctors in evaluating treatment response in pleural mesothelioma. This breakthrough means that disease progression can be detected five weeks earlier than the currently used criteria. It will offer patients…
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J&J Ordered to Pay $32 Million to Family of Baby Powder Mesothelioma Victim
A Los Angeles jury has ordered consumer giant Johnson & Johnson to pay $32 million in damages to the family of Maria Lozano, a woman who died from mesothelioma. The woman was diagnosed with the rare, asbestos-related disease after using the company’s talc-based baby powder on herself and her children for decades.
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Will New Tumor Injection Be a Breakthrough for Mesothelioma Patients?
All too often, traditional mesothelioma treatments fail to provide the hoped-for benefit, leaving patients with limited options. But according to results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago, a new triple-action cancer injection under development may offer new hope. The drug, called amivantamab, has produced what researchers described as “unprecedentedly…
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Research Shows Mesothelioma Deaths Rising Despite Declining Rates
Newly published research has revealed a troubling paradox in mesothelioma trends across the United States. While age-standardized mesothelioma rates have declined by roughly one-third since 1990, the actual number of people diagnosed with mesothelioma increased by nearly 30%, and annual deaths have continued climbing. This means that the rare, asbestos-related disease is evolving rather than…
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Cosmetic Talc Company Creates First-of-its-Kind $20 Million Asbestos Trust
A Texas bankruptcy judge recently confirmed cosmetics ingredient supplier Miyoshi America Inc.’s Chapter 11 plan to establish a $20 million trust addressing mesothelioma and asbestos-related personal injury claims. The approach represents the first-ever prepackaged talc reorganization in U.S. bankruptcy history, with 99% of current mesothelioma and talc claimants voting to accept the groundbreaking settlement.
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Appeals Court Affirms Retrial Over J&J Baby Powder Cervical Cancer
Five years after a Georgia jury delivered a win to Johnson & Johnson in a case filed by the daughter of a cervical cancer victim, a Georgia Court of Appeals panel has unanimously upheld a trial judge’s decision to grant a new trial. The decision offers new hope to the woman’s family, as well as…
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United Kingdom Clinical Trial Will Test Proton Beam Therapy for Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is one of the most aggressive, most deadly forms of cancer, and researchers around the world have dedicated themselves to finding a way to improve outcomes for those impacted by this asbestos-related disease. Recently, the University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announced that they will be conducting a…
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Cholesterol Drug’s Immunotherapy Boost May Benefit Mesothelioma Patients
A new study published in JAMA Network Open gives hope that a specific class of cholesterol-lowering drugs may boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy in ways that could benefit mesothelioma patients. Researchers found that patients with certain cancers treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors—the same class of drugs FDA-approved for mesothelioma—who also took PCSK9 inhibitors had a…
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Did Johnson & Johnson Disclose Asbestos Mesothelioma Risk to FDA?
In an ongoing trial blaming consumer giant Johnson & Johnson of causing three women’s ovarian cancer, the jury was shown a video deposition in which a former J&J toxicologist said he found no evidence his employer had provided the FDA with a report that “unmistakably” found asbestos in the company’s talc. The question has been…
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Ovarian Cancer Jury Told Johnson & Johnson Hid Asbestos Test Results from FDA
In the latest asbestos trial accusing Johnson & Johnson of liability for victims’ ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a former FDA commissioner told a Los Angeles jury that a consultant the company hired in the 1970s changed the conclusions of tests that found alarming levels of asbestos in the company’s talc products, and then provided the…
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Mesothelioma Advocates Call for National Asbestos Registry
Though mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases continue claiming lives in communities across the country, many experts believe that the true scale of the crisis is largely unknown. Our fragmented medical system, private trust fund databases, and government repositories have created what researchers call a “shadow registry” that still diminishes our understanding of the long-term consequences…
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$10.2 Million Awarded to 43-Year-Old Body Powder Mesothelioma Victim
A Ramsey County, Minnesota jury has awarded the second-highest mesothelioma verdict in the state’s history to a couple that blames the husband’s terminal mesothelioma diagnosis on his lifelong use of talcum body powder products. The companies ordered to pay the $10.2 million in damages include Vi-Jon, Gold Bond, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Perrigo, all…
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Canadian Company Seeking Protection from Mesothelioma Lawsuits Wins U.S. Recognition for Bankruptcy
Despite opposition from mesothelioma and asbestos injury claimants, a U.S. bankruptcy judge has granted recognition of Canadian company Asbestos Corp. Ltd.’s bankruptcy filing. The victims of exposure to the Quebec asbestos mining company’s products argued that allowing the foreign case to move forward would deprive them of due process and a fair hearing. The company…
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Study Reveals How Genetic Mutations Predict Mesothelioma Survival and Treatment Outcomes
A major international study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology reveals that specific genetic mutations in mesothelioma tumors significantly influence patient survival and, when combined with traditional staging, can improve the accuracy of survival predictions. This new information may impact how doctors predict outcomes and create treatment plans for the rare, asbestos-related cancer.
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Study Shows Perioperative Immunotherapy Safe and Effective for Operable Mesothelioma Patients
A groundbreaking mesothelioma study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center reports that using combination immunotherapy before and after surgery is feasible and safe for patients with operable tumors. More importantly, this first clinical trial to test perioperative immune checkpoint blockade in the rare asbestos-related cancer yielded promising survival results.
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Jury Awards $12.75 Million in Mesothelioma Case Against Cosmetic Manufacturer
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury has ordered cosmetic manufacturer Port Jervis Laboratories, Inc. (formerly Kolmar Laboratories) to pay $12.75 million in damages to the family of a Los Angeles physician who died from mesothelioma. The jury found that the company had failed to warn consumers about the dangers of asbestos hidden in its…
