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Missouri Supreme Court Upholds $2.1 Billion Johnson & Johnson Asbestos Verdict
In a stunning rebuff of a major American corporation, the Missouri Supreme Court refused to review an asbestos lawsuit that ended in a $2.1 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson. The original case had been filed by 22 women and their spouses who accused the corporate giant of knowingly exposing the women to asbestos in
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New Orleans Longshoreman Awarded $10.3 Million Following Mesothelioma Diagnosis
Though the courtroom setup was adjusted in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing did nothing to diminish a New Orleans’ jury from delivering justice in a recently held mesothelioma trial. After hearing testimony about the longshoreman’s exposure to raw asbestos from ships in the 1960s, the jury awarded the man $10.3
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Pittsburgh Mesothelioma Patient Describes Life with Optune Luna
It’s been more than a year since Optune, formerly known as Tumor Treating Fields, received FDA approval for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, and its use is reportedly slowing the disease’s progression while improving patients’ quality of life. A Pittsburgh news station recently highlighted how it is helping a Navy veteran diagnosed with the rare,
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Swiss Researchers Shrink Mesothelioma Tumors with Combination Photodynamic Therapy/Immunotherapy
Photodynamic therapy and immunotherapy are two innovative treatment approaches that have delivered positive results in mesothelioma clinical trials. Based on these findings, Swiss researchers pursued a novel approach that combined the use of those two protocols, and have reported dramatic, positive results.
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Hairdresser’s Mesothelioma Death Blamed on Asbestos In Hair Dryers
It’s widely understood that malignant mesothelioma has been caused by asbestos in insulation, by asbestos contamination in construction materials, and by asbestos in vinyl tiles, ceiling tiles, and other industrial equipment, applications and materials. But the carcinogenic material has been used in settings that have not received the same level of attention, and which may
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Researchers Confirm Safety and Effectiveness of Bevacizumab/Chemo Combination
Mesothelioma researchers are always looking for ways to improve the effect of chemotherapy, and one possibility being researched is the use of an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor medication called bevacizumab. Though it has been theorized that bevacizumab could improve overall survival, colorectal cancer patients on whom it was used had shown troubling bleeding after surgery.
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Italian Researchers Find that Vitamin D Reduces Mesothelioma Cell Viability
The search for an effective treatment for malignant mesothelioma takes researchers in many different directions, with some focused on innovative technologies while others explore novel uses for familiar therapies. In the latter category, Italian researchers from the University of Turin recently found that the active form of vitamin D reduced human mesothelioma cell viability and
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Australian Researchers Announce 2021 Mesothelioma Clinical Trial
After years of asbestos mining and use of the carcinogenic material in the construction of homes, buildings and infrastructure, Australia experiences an extraordinarily high percentage of its population affected by malignant mesothelioma. To address the high rates of the disease, the country invests in innovative research, including a clinical trial slated for 2021 that will
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Where You Go for Mesothelioma Treatment Can Make All the Difference
In mesothelioma survival (as in all other things), “location location location” is often a determining factor. Specifically, the location of the medical facility that patients choose determines their treatment, and that can make a difference in their overall survival time. Studies have shown that it’s true in the United States, and a recent study showed
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As Malignant Mesothelioma Diagnoses Decline, Lawsuits Increase
As America has slowly worked to eliminate use of and exposure to asbestos, the number of people diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases is on the decline. While mesothelioma diagnoses have dropped approximately 16.2% over the last dozen years, the diminishing numbers of victims has done nothing to extinguish the outrage felt by
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Study Reveals Significant Improvements in Overall Survival of Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients
Malignant mesothelioma is an extremely rare disease. Approximately 3,000 individuals are diagnosed with the asbestos-related cancer each year, and only 15 to 20 percent of those have peritoneal mesothelioma, the subset of the disease that forms in patients’ abdomen. Though every type of mesothelioma is considered terminal, a recent study points to advances in the
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UK Scientists Mobilize Gold Nanotubes in Fight Against Mesothelioma
The United Kingdom loses a greater percentage of its population to malignant mesothelioma than any other country, due in large part to asbestos use during the massive rebuilding required after World War II. Accordingly, the country’s scientists work tirelessly to find a cure for the rare asbestos-related disease. This morning researchers published a report detailing
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Can Where You Live Impact How Long You Live With Mesothelioma?
There have been several U.S.-based studies that have indicated that patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma who live near to or seek treatment from major metropolitan academic hospitals survive longer with their disease. But these results are not universally true, and long-term research done in Australia contradicts the premise entirely.
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Canadian Study Tracks Mesothelioma Incidence Over 25 Years
Preliminary results have been released from a Canadian mesothelioma study, and the conclusions are chilling. Researchers are seeing a slow but steady transition from the disease being almost entirely occupational to a greater number of people being diagnosed following lower, non-work-related exposures to asbestos.
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Scientists Identify New Treatment Roadmap for Mesothelioma Patients
Over and over again, researchers and oncologists have pointed to a personalized approach to treating malignant mesothelioma. They’ve found that by digging into the genetic codes of individual patients and searching for microscopic indicators in each patient’s cells, they can create better, more tailored treatment options that are appropriate, provide the most realistic approach, and
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Mesothelioma and Asbestosis Put Libby Residents at High Risk for COVID-19 Complications
The entire nation and much of the world has been affected by fear of COVID-19, but perhaps none are as concerned as those diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. This population, with its scarred lungs and fragile health, knows that exposure to the virus could be a death sentence. Their concerns are in particularly
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Canadian Pathologists Explore Accuracy of Available Markers for Malignant Mesothelioma
A firm diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma needs to be made before an effective treatment plan can be put into place, and after that initial diagnosis is made surgeons need to be able to distinguish between benign and malignant tissue. Prior to surgery they rely on biomarkers to guide them, but several of these markers exist
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Researchers Publish Updated Guidance on Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment
Malignant mesothelioma is so rare that it presents a challenge for many physicians. It is not uncommon for doctors never to have seen a patient with the disease and, if one is diagnosed, to be unfamiliar with the appropriate course of treatment. In response to this and to refresh available information for others, two researchers
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PD-L1 Protein Is Predictive of Mesothelioma Survival
Oncologists have a list of characteristics that suggest that a mesothelioma patient will be more or less likely to have a longer or shorter survival time. Being female, being younger, or in better health without co-morbidities at the time of diagnosis, are all indicators of a better prognosis. Now researchers from the Linyi People’s Hospital
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Kentucky Hospital Announces Availability of Optune Lua Mesothelioma Treatment
It’s been just over 18 months since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novocure’s Tumor Treating Fields, now known as Optune Lua, for use in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The device has been introduced gradually in cancer treatment centers across the United States, and now St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Kentucky has announced that
