At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The “Asbestos in Talc Symposium,” sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration [ and intended to investigate asbestos in talc powders … [Read more...]
Cancer in the classroom
[Lea DiRusso was exposed to asbestos while teaching at schools for nearly 30 years, then this teacher is diagnosed with mesothelioma.] Every week during the school year, teacher Lea DiRusso climbed on a chair and hung her students’ best work on a clothesline strung between two old heating pipes. As she tugged the line down to clip on artwork or … [Read more...]
Hey, government people, have you heard about mesothelioma?
Just when you think it cannot become worse, it does. For many decades, we have known about the hazards of asbestos, as well as its relationship to mesothelioma and other thoracic and abdominal malignancies. We even see there is a growth industry among our friends in the legal world, with the emergence of for-profit firms apparently devoted only … [Read more...]
A Most Reckless Proposal — A Plan to Continue Asbestos Use in the United States
Each year, nearly 40,000 Americans die often painful, protracted deaths from diseases caused by asbestos. These deaths occur in firefighters, police officers, construction workers, miners, military veterans, shipyard workers, and maintenance workers whose exposures to asbestos are primarily occupational. Death also occurs in partners and children … [Read more...]
Malignant pleural mesothelioma: from bedside to bench and from bench to bedside
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but very aggressive cancer of the thin tissue layer (pleura) covering the lungs. The development of MPM is strongly linked to previous exposure to the fibrous mineral asbestos, which has been widely used until the 1980s, in particular in the building industry. Although patients are generally eligible … [Read more...]
NIOSH considers mesothelioma registry; seeks input
The [ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ] is gauging the feasibility of a national [ mesothelioma registry ] intended to track cases of mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer linked to on-the-job exposure to asbestos. According to a Request for Information published in the April 8 Federal Register, the agency is asking … [Read more...]
More than 200 teachers died from asbestos – and kids are at risk in classroom
More than 200 teachers have died in the past 10 years from the effects of being exposed to asbestos. And for each teacher fatality, nine ex-pupils can also be expected to fall victim to the silent killer, a study claims – an average of almost 200 per year. Breathing in asbestos fibres can lead to mesothelioma, a cancer that develops in the … [Read more...]
Dr. Goldberg Discusses the Diagnosis of Mesothelioma (Short Video)
Sarah B. Goldberg, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine, Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center, discusses the diagnosis of mesothelioma. This is an extremely rare disease that is usually seen in patients with prior asbestos exposure, Goldberg says. However, mesothelioma can be seen occasionally in patients without prior exposure to … [Read more...]
Avelumab may benefit some patients with advanced unresectable mesothelioma
The anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibody avelumab is well tolerated and shows antitumor activity in some patients with previously treated unresectable mesothelioma, according to results from a single-arm trial. “Immune-checkpoint inhibitors result in clinical benefit in a small subset of patients with mesothelioma, but … [Read more...]
Pleural mesothelioma: tackling a deadly cancer
A new study from the University of Pittsburgh has highlighted six factors that are associated with improved survival in patients with mesothelioma; age under 45 years, female, epithelioid histological subtype, peritoneal mesothelioma, stage 1 cancer, and being treated with both surgery and chemotherapy. This knowledge, together with recent reports … [Read more...]