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Italian Studies Reveal Shortcomings of PET/CT for Identifying Malignant Mesothelioma
Malignant mesothelioma is challenging for many reasons. The rare and fatal asbestos-related form of cancer is only diagnosed in approximately 3,000 patients per year, and this means that studies assessing the effectiveness of treatment are necessarily limited in scope. The disease is not only notoriously resistant to traditional treatment, but also has a long latency
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Court Decides Trial Judge Wrongly Denied Evidence Request in Mesothelioma Trial
A mesothelioma widow will have another day in court after three judges on Pennsylvania’s Superior Court ruled that a Philadelphia trial court had abused its discretion in denying a jury request.
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Study Reveals Treatment and Survival Disparities Between Men and Women with Mesothelioma
Women diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma are known to experience significantly longer overall survival times than their male counterparts. Yet a recent study revealed that once diagnosed with the rare and fatal form of cancer, women are far less likely to receive surgery or chemotherapy than male patients. Female Mesothelioma Patients Are Diagnosed When They Are
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Asbestos Report Warns of Mesothelioma Risk for British Children
Throughout the United States, parents have voiced concern that asbestos contamination in schools might be putting their children at risk for malignant mesothelioma. Multiple schools in Philadelphia have been closed after asbestos discoveries, and a Philadelphia schoolteacher made national news when she revealed her mesothelioma diagnosis. Yet the fears voiced in this country pale in
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Research Encourages Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients to Consider Radical Surgery
Researchers from a renowned Virginia hospital have published an essential review of outcomes for patients diagnosed with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Their retrospective study concludes that patients who are eligible for and undergo radical surgery for their condition live significantly longer than those whose treatment is limited to non-surgical protocols.
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Judge Overseeing Johnson & Johnson Mesothelioma Lawsuit Refuses to Dismiss Punitive Damages
Last February, a New Jersey jury told Johnson & Johnson they needed to pay four mesothelioma victims $750 million in punitive damages. That decision followed a trial that had found the company guilty of selling baby powder contaminated with asbestos, and which had assessed the company $37.3 million in compensatory damages. The punitive damages amount
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Study Dismisses Theory that Radiation Exposure Causes Mesothelioma
When asbestos companies are faced with mesothelioma lawsuits, they frequently defend themselves by trying to cast blame elsewhere. They assert that their asbestos did not cause the illness, and speak of alternative causes for the rare and fatal form of cancer, hoping that juries will be distracted or confused. One of these theories claims that
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Glowing Dye Technology May Guide Future Mesothelioma Surgeries
An exciting new technology being tested by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania may represent a significant positive change in mesothelioma surgery. It could enhance surgeons’ ability to remove previously hidden cells of the rare asbestos-related disease, as well as those of all other types of cancer.
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Study Tracks Deaths from COVID-19 Among Mesothelioma Patients and Others With Thoracic Cancers
In response to the clear dangers that the coronavirus poses to patients diagnosed with mesothelioma and other thoracic malignancies, a group of international researchers has established a registry to determine whether cancer treatments pose an additional risk factor. The group recently released some of its earliest results, and reported that past treatment may in fact
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Mesothelioma Victim’s Journey Profiled on National News Website
Most people’s familiarity with malignant mesothelioma comes from late-night television ads urging victims to contact attorneys, but thanks to a Yahoo.com profile on survivor Heath Von St. James, the rare and fatal form of cancer is getting a big boost of attention.
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Asbestos Company’s Appeal of Mesothelioma Verdict Backfires, Leads to Larger Award
It is not at all unusual for an asbestos company ordered to pay a large mesothelioma award to file an appeal of the jury’s verdict, and that is exactly what talc provider Whittaker, Clark and Daniels, Inc. did when faced with a $3 million award to the estate of a peritoneal mesothelioma victim and her
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Trane Technologies’ Companies Placed in Bankruptcy Due to Mesothelioma Filings
Over the years, dozens of asbestos companies have filed for bankruptcy in response to overwhelming liability to mesothelioma victims and others harmed by exposure to asbestos, and now another has joined their ranks. Trane Technologies PLC, a company with a history of selling asbestos-contaminated pumps, compressors, and HVAC equipment, announced that two newly created business
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White Female Mesothelioma Patients May Be At Higher Risk for Depression
Though the primary concern when a person is diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma is their physical health, it is essential that clinicians, caretakers and family members pay close attention to the patient’s psychological wellbeing too. A recent study conducted at the University of Florida looked at cancer patients’ vulnerability to depression, and found that though among
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Near-Infrared Irradiation Shows Promise in Treatment of Malignant Mesothelioma
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are three of the top treatments for malignant mesothelioma, and research is suggesting that immunotherapy may soon be added to the list, but now scientists from Nagoya University are adding another potential tool to oncologists’ toolbox: they say that tests of near-infrared irradiation combined with a cancer-targeting compound have been
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Study Reveals Greater Accuracy of MRI In Assessing Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Whether you’ve been diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma or malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, having an accurate assessment of the extent of your disease is essential to creating the most effective treatment plan. A new study has revealed that when it comes to peritoneal mesothelioma, MRI provides a more accurate picture of how far the disease has
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Court Denies Electrical Manufacturers’ Cigarette Warning Argument in Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit
When mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer victims file lawsuits against those responsible for their illness, their attorneys warn them to expect the worst from the asbestos companies and those companies’ attorneys. Just as the companies put profits over people when they exposed workers to asbestos-contaminated products, they will say and do almost anything to avoid
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FDA Provides Approval of Keytruda For Treatment of Mesothelioma and Other Tumors
Following confirmation of positive results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for patients diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic malignant mesothelioma, as well as other solid tumor cancers.
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Study Reveals Weakness of Video-Assisted Pleural Biopsy for Mesothelioma Diagnosis
When a patient is suspected of having malignant pleural mesothelioma, speed is of the essence. The physician’s goal is to confirm the diagnosis as quickly as possible so that they can devise the most effective treatment protocol for the patient’s specific condition. One of the most frequently-used tools in staging this rare and fatal form
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NYC Pollution Control Engineer’s Mesothelioma Lawsuit Survives Boiler Company’s Objections
When New York City pollution control engineer Thomas L. Eckrich was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, he was initially uncertain as to how he could have contracted the disease, as his job did not involve him working with asbestos or any asbestos-contaminated products. It was only after careful review of his work environment that he realized
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Study Reveals Significant Benefit for Mesothelioma Patients from Novel Chemotherapy Treatment
This year’s Society of Interventional Radiology’s Annual Scientific Meeting may have had to be held virtually, but the information delivered for mesothelioma patients was very real and very significant. Speaking to the group about their novel treatment for advanced mesothelioma, Bela Kis, M.D., PhD of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa revealed an extended survival
