Category: Mesothelioma News

Georgia-Pacific has pledged $1 billion to fund an asbestos trust for bankrupt affiliate Bestwall LLC, clearing the path to a settlement of longstanding liability claims involving mesothelioma cancer. Bloomberg Law reported earlier this month that Georgia-Pacific made the financial commitment to advance a consensual resolution in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of…

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Pharmaceutical giant Merck has teamed up with Novocure to test its cornerstone immunotherapy, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), alongside Tumor Treating Fields. The new phase II clinical research trial is focusing on non-small cell lung cancer and will enroll approximately 66 patients across the U.S. Keytruda, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, works as a checkpoint inhibitor and allows the immune…

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Standard-of-care treatment for unresectable pleural mesothelioma cancer could be changing soon, sparked by a recently completed international study of a novel immunotherapy combination. Patients in the randomized mesothelioma clinical trial who were treated with ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) had a median overall survival of 18.1 months, compared to 14.1 months for those receiving chemotherapy….

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When the COVID-19 pandemic struck earlier this year, clinical trials at medical centers around the world slowed enrollment or placed trial activities on hold. As businesses begin to reopen in the United States, more treatment centers are resuming mesothelioma study activities and ramping up enrollment. Clinical research trials offer patients access to experimental mesothelioma treatments…

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A mesothelioma clinical trial involving genetically modified T cells has opened to considerable acclaim, shrinking tumors in the first five patients who were treated. The phase I portion of the clinical trial is designed to define the safety profile and optimal dosage level of TC-210, a novel immunotherapy targeting mesothelin, a cell-surface protein often overexpressed…

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For the sixth consecutive year, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston was named the top Adult Cancer Hospital in America by U.S. News & World Report. Several of the top-tier cancer centers on the list have specialty programs for mesothelioma that contributed to their high ranking. The 2020-21 Best Hospitals for Cancer…

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The continued underutilization of aggressive surgery for peritoneal mesothelioma is shortening survival time dramatically for patients who could qualify for, and benefit from, the highly effective procedure. Only a third of those diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma are undergoing potentially curative cytoreductive mesothelioma surgery, according to a comprehensive study of the National Cancer Database by researchers…

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Standard-of-care treatment for malignant mesothelioma could change significantly, depending upon the results of an upcoming clinical trial of two immunotherapy agents used in combination with chemotherapy. The mesothelioma clinical trial will involve pembrolizumab, also known by the brand name Keytruda, and its synergy with ONCOS-102, a lesser-known, genetically modified adenovirus. Individually, both have shown modest…

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Tumor Treating Fields is one of the newest treatments on the market for pleural mesothelioma cancer patients with metastatic disease. The device is also available to patients with locally advanced cancer who are not candidates for mesothelioma surgery. Clinical trials of the treatment, previously known as NovoTTF-100L, extended the survival of mesothelioma patients by more…

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Mike Cirian came to Libby, Montana, in 2005 to lead the largest asbestos cleanup project in American history, a decontamination effort of unprecedented proportion. He never left. Cirian helped turn a dark, deadly past into a much brighter, celebrated future. As manager of the EPA’s asbestos Superfund site ­– stemming from the massive asbestos-contaminated vermiculite…

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National advocacy group Black Women for Wellness joined more than 170 other nonprofits from 51 countries last week in demanding that Johnson & Johnson stop the worldwide distribution of its iconic Johnson’s Baby Powder. The demand for a global distribution ban stems from the potential for asbestos in talc, which has led to various cancers…

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Patients with mesothelioma are being recruited by the National Cancer Institute for a phase II clinical trial using a novel immunotoxin prior to pembrolizumab, a combination that has shown preliminary evidence of efficacy. This promising mesothelioma clinical trial involves the drug LMB-100, designed to make immunotherapy agents such as pembrolizumab, otherwise known as Keytruda, more…

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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…

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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,…

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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,…

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