Week In Review: Promising Mesothelioma Study And Red Cross Exec Under Fire For … – Asbestos.com
There was some good news, some bad news and some unsettling news that came through the Mesothelioma Cancer Center this week.
On the encouraging side, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania reported promising results from a study which pinpointed a modified cold virus that triggers a body’s own immune system to help fight off certain cancers, particularly mesothelioma.
Nine mesothelioma patients were studied, and five of them reported either disease stability or tumor regression after having the virus injected. Only the four with the most advanced cases of mesothelioma showed no positive signs.
Mesothelioma is the aggressive cancer caused by an exposure to asbestos.
The report was published this week in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, providing a lift for immune-gene therapy research.
Photodynamic therapy also took a step forward when the FDA approved the Orphan Drug Designation tag for PHOTOFRIN (porfimer sodium) for the manufacturer Pinnacle Biologics, Inc.
Photodynamic therapy includes the injection of a photosensitive drug that takes hold in cancer cells, which then can be killed by a particular wavelength of light. PHOTOFRIN, which has been used against small cell lung and esophageal cancers, has shown to be more effective than some of the other drugs being used in this type of therapy.
The bad news was that some American companies unknowingly were putting their workers at serious risk by buying gaskets from Europe that were mislabeled as “non-asbestos-containing,” when in fact they did contain the toxic mineral.
Although names of the American companies which bought the products and used them have not been released, Wolseley, Inc. is the heating and plumbing products company in Europe being sited in news reports.
It sells to Unites States-based companies like Ferguson, Build.com, Cal-Steam and Stock Market, among others.
Australian film actor Harold Hopkins, 67, died this week at home of mesothelioma, traced to occupational exposure to asbestos more than 30 years before when he worked as a carpenter.
Hopkins was best known in America for his film role in “Gallipoli,” from 1981 when he played a soldier opposite Mel Gibson. Hopkins joined Steve McQueen and Merlin Olsen as famous actors who have died from mesothelioma.
In a troubling story, the EPA Inspector General cited his own agency for possible rules violations in regard to asbestos removal. He was responding to allegations that the EPA was using unauthorized methods for demolishing asbestos-containing buildings.
The EPA is the government agency most responsible for protecting Americans from environmental dangers like asbestos, which made the violations rather unusual.
Another hard-to-believe story invoked a strong and inspirational response from asbestos-activists in Canada.
The Canadian Red Cross next month may ask for the resignation of one of its executive board members because of mounting pressure from the anti-asbestos movement. The controversy began when it was uncovered that Roshi Chadha was making decisions as an executive of the Red Cross and also serving as an executive for Seja Trade Ltd., a shipping company in Canada that exports asbestos.
Her husband also is Baljit Chadha, who is the president of Balcorp, the company trying to secure a government loan guarantee to reopen the Jeffrey Asbestos Mine in Quebec. The connection between the Red Cross and the asbestos industry just fueled the growing controversy in Canada.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
