Asbestos cancer drug approved

Save Spodden Valley campaigners have welcomed the annoucenment by NICE that it has rejected an appeal against its decision to approve the use of Alimta for the treatment of mesothelioma, a fatal tumour of the lung pleura caused by exposure to asbestos.

The campaign group has thanked MPs Paul Rowen and Jim Dobbin - both of whom have been vocal on the issue.

Spokesman Jason Addy said: "Our thanks go to local MPs Paul Rowen and Jim Dobbin who continue to work hard on raising awareness of the injustice caused by asbestos.

"Mesothelioma is a terminal asbestos related cancer. Alimta is not a cure and can only help a proportion of mesothelioma patients. However, what it can give is a little more time- perhaps only a few precious months- to mark a significant anniversary or see a grandchild born. What price can be put on that?
"Alimta has been subject to a cruel 'postcode lottery'. Patients in Rochdale have been able to receive it but many former T&N workers who have moved away haven't.

"Nationwide, many cancer victims of a product once made in Rochdale could not get English NHS treatment. Scotland and much of the EU funded treatment but not many parts of England. It was a huge injustice. "What message did that send to people who were facing a death sentence...
"Work hard for decades, pay your taxes, but suffer in silence?"

The decision brings to an end an approval process which has taken nearly three years, and which led to one of the worst examples of post code lottery funding. While mesothelioma patients in Scotland, the North West and North East of England received treatment, hundreds of patients were refused treatment in other parts of the UK.

This agonisingly long appraisal process has caused untold distress for hundreds of mesothelioma patients who might have benefited from treatment with Alimta, which, although not a cure for mesothelioma, can extend life and alleviate symptoms for many patients. Average life expectancy from diagnosis for mesothelioma sufferers is 12 months: for many patients this decision has come far too late.

Final guidance will now be issued by NICE so that PCTs will at last be obliged to uniformly provide treatment, although they have the option of a 90-day lead in period following an official announcement by NICE.

Tony Whitston, Chair of the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum, commented: "PCTs should respond immediately to NICE’s announcement today and follow Department of Health Guidance which encourages early implementation of NICE guidance. In light of today’s clear and unequivocal decision by NICE it would be perverse for any PCT to refuse a request for treatment after so many years delay and anguish for patients and their families."

Source: http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/News/news.asp?ID=5615

Exposure to Asbestos Can be Deadly

Many products contain asbestos. From 1900 until well into the 1980s, asbestos was commonly used in over 3,000 different products produced through:

• Construction
• Mining
• Milling
• Processing

Asbestos and its products create many small fibers that, when breathed into the lungs, cause serious health problems. The most dangerous health problem is Mesothelioma, a cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs.

In many countries asbestos is still mined, processed and used. In a growing number of others, it is either banned, or its use is severely restricted because of the serious health risks associated with it.

Asbestos can be found in numerous everyday places, such as:

• Ducts
• Furnaces
• Vinyl flooring
• Shingles
• Siding
• Asbestos insulation
• Ceiling tiles
• Ceramic tiles
• Acoustic tiles
• Sheetrock
• Paint
• Automobiles

Asbestos can also exist in surprising places:

• Adhesive
• Fake Snow
• Ironing Board Covers
• Mittens and Mitts
• Wallpaper
• Yarn

How is asbestos used?

· The Construction Industry
Asbestos is used in many aspects of building and construction for insulation, sound absorption, pipe insulation and to strengthen cement.

· In the Automobile Industry
The automotive industry manufactures cars with asbestos in the brake shoes and often in the clutch pads.

· In The Shipbuilding Industry
Asbestos is used to insulate boilers, steam pipes, and hot water pipes. Sometimes, asbestos insulates ship’s nuclear reactors.

· Everyday Exposure
Asbestos paper makes daily life more convenient. For example, table pads use asbestos, as well as beverage filters, wire insulation and heat mats.

In 1979, approximately 560,000 metric tons of asbestos was used in domestic products. That number is reduced today to less than 55,000. However, many products still exist that were produced before asbestos use was restricted.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to exposure to asbestos in the state of New York, please contact John Feroleto, Attorneys at Law, today to schedule your initial consultation.

Source: http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=012208_asbestos.htm

British panel backs Eli Lilly's lung cancer drug Alimta

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, or NICE, Wednesday said Eli Lilly & Co's lung cancer drug Alimta should be reimbursed for the treatment of mesothelioma, a type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

The final guidance from NICE, the body that determines which drugs are provided by the National Health Service in England and Wales, recommends Alimta for patients who have advanced mesothelioma and are unsuitable for curative surgery.

In 2006 Alimta reported worldwide sales of $611.8 million, up 32% from the previous year.

Company Web site: http://www.lilly.com

Contact: 201-938-5400

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/british-panel-backs-eli-lillys/story.aspx?guid=%7BF7ECB20D-2751-4C51-B444-D7E05916D17D%7D

Minnesotan claims sales rep father suffered mesothelioma

A Minnesota man filed an asbestos suit against 10 defendant corporations in Madison County Circuit Court Jan. 16, alleging his father died from mesothelioma.

Bruno Zagar claims his father, Anthony, was diagnosed with mesothelioma on Jan. 1, 2004, and died on Dec. 2, 2004.

He claims that during the course of his father's employment and during home and automotive repairs he was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed asbestos fibers emanating from certain products he was working with and around.

"The plaintiff's exposure and inhalation, ingestion or absorption of the asbestos fibers was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants," the complaint states.

According to Zagar, his father was employed from 1942 to 1982 as a sales representative in various locations including Illinois.

Zagar claims the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers contained in their products had a toxic, poisonous and highly deleterious effect upon the health of people.

He also alleges that the defendants included asbestos in their products even when adequate substitutes were available and failed to provide any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with and around asbestos.Zagar also claims that the defendants failed to require and advise employees of hygiene practices designed to reduce or prevent carrying asbestos fibers home.

As a result of the alleged negligence, Zagar claims his father was exposed to fibers containing asbestos and developed a disease caused only by asbestos which has disabled and disfigured him prior to his death, the complaint states.

Zagar claims prior to his death, his father suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, was hindered and prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment, thereby losing large sums of money.

Represented by Perry Browder, John Barnerd, Nicholas Angelides and Robert Phillips of SimmonsCooper in East Alton, Zagar is seeking damages in excess of $200,000, plus punitive damages."

In addition to compensatory damages, an award of punitive damages is appropriate and necessary in order to punish the defendants for willful, wanton, intentional and reckless misconduct and to deter them and others from engaging in like misconduct in the future," the complaint states.The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Dan Stack.

Source: http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/206805-minnesotan-claims-sales-rep-father-suffered-mesothelioma

No 'immediate risk' from asbestos in local schools

A CANCER-causing material found in the majority of schools in Caithness does not present an "immediate risk", according to Highland Council officials.

Results from a newly-released survey show that two-thirds of the county's primary schools and both secondaries contain asbestos.

But the local authority has insisted there are strict measures in place to monitor and manage the situation.

Its asbestos register, released to a daily newspaper this month under Freedom of Information legislation, shows that most local schools contain a form of the substance in wall panels, flooring and ceiling tiles.

The most prevalent is chrysotile, known as white asbestos, which is thought to be the least hazardous type.

Several contain amosite, or brown asbestos – said to be 100 times more potent – while a number, including Pennyland and Miller Academy primaries in Thurso, also contain crocidolite, or blue asbestos – reported to be the most dangerous of all.

Six schools are missing from the report – Canisbay, Crossroads, Dunbeath, Halkirk, Reay and Watten – but a council spokesman confirmed that this did not necessarily indicate that they were asbestos-free.

Where a property is not listed in the register, it only means that a survey has not been carried out or that no information on suspected asbestos is available.

The report, last updated in December, lists "non-housing" council-owned properties throughout the Highlands which are known or suspected locations of asbestos. However, no comprehensive survey of the authority's property portfolio has been undertaken.

Details about asbestos are available at the Highland Council's education offices at Rhind House in Wick, the town's public library and the Rosebank pavilion, and at Thurso's caravan park in Smith Terrace.

Edinburgh-based industrial hygienist Robin Howie, a former president of the British Occupational Hygiene Society, describes the health risks as "significant" and claims that, through exposure, children could be left vulnerable to asbestos-related diseases in later life.

He said: "Children are particularly vulnerable because of their life expectancy. Mesothelioma can be latent in the body for a period of between 50 and 60 years. They have a higher probability of surviving long enough for the disease to develop."

He claims that local authorities and the Government have had an "active disinterest" in the subject for some time.

"Politicians don't spend money today to save money in 60 years as it's not possible to demonstrate now that it's been wisely spent," said Mr Howie. "We all know that local authorities don't have the funding that they would like. They can only carry out the correct remediation work if they get additional funding."

The Highland Council's area education, culture and sport manager, Graham Nichols, maintained that unless asbestos is damaged it poses "no hazard whatsoever".

"There is no cause for panic in the fact that it exists – it only presents a problem if it is broken up or fragmented," he told the Courier.

"Essentially asbestos is perfectly safe until it's damaged. The (Highland Council's) housing and property services have established measures in place to deal with it."

David Goldie, acting head of housing and property services, said: "We do not believe that any asbestos in schools or care homes presents an immediate risk.

"The council has management arrangements and controls in place to ensure that asbestos is recorded, that the presence of asbestos is taken into account in any building maintenance work being undertaken, and that any work to buildings containing asbestos is managed within the relevant regulatory framework."

Under regulations introduced in 2006, the importation, supply and use of all forms of asbestos was banned. It is thought, however, that most schools and other public buildings erected since the 1960s contain the material.

If asbestos is in good condition, it is not dangerous, but if it is damaged or disturbed and people are exposed to its airborne fibres over prolonged periods of time, they could be at a greater risk of developing asbestosis, or mesothelioma – the invariably terminal cancer of the lining of the lungs. Past exposure to asbestos kills around 3000 people a year in the UK. This number is expected to go on rising for the next 10 years.

According to the Health and Safety Executive's website, the most likely way for asbestos in schools to be disturbed or damaged is through maintenance, repair or construction activities. This includes small jobs such as installing telephones or computers, putting up shelving or installing security systems, or tacking work to asbestos insulation boards or ceiling tiles.
The council's register shows that although some asbestos has been removed or sealed off for safety, some schools may not have been inspected since the material was first identified – this could be as early as 1998 in some cases.

A separate asbestos algorithm form which has the facility to record any monitoring carried out has been developed and was recently introduced.

"The recommendations recorded on the asbestos register are lifted from assessments or survey reports," stated a council spokesman. "Refurbishment works and maintenance tasks may have resulted in the recommendations being implemented, but unless this information is forwarded the register cannot be updated."

Where properties have not had a comprehensive asbestos survey carried out, asbestos may not be restricted to areas listed in the register.

Source: http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/3864/No_'immediate_risk'_from_asbestos_in_local_schools.html

First Time Federal Funding for Mesothelioma Research

Department of Defense Lists Asbestos-Related Cancer For Medical Research Projects

TheDepartment of Defense (DoD) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program wasappropriated $50 million in the Defense Appropriations Bill that thePresident signed in mid- November. The Mesothelioma Applied ResearchFoundation (Meso Foundation) is excited to announce that, for the firsttime, mesothelioma will be included as a research priority within the DoD'sMedical Research Program, to begin February 2008. As a candidate researcharea within the program, mesothelioma investigators are eligible to competefor funding through the program's 2008 grant cycle.

"The Meso Foundation has been working with fifteen senators, led bySenator Max Baucus (D-MT), advocating the federal government to respond tothe mesothelioma crisis through a commitment of new federal researchdollars," said Chris Hahn, Executive Director of The Meso Foundation. "Ouradvocacy efforts in this area for the past several years finally paid off."

Federal medical research projects must be of clear scientific merit andhave direct relevance to military health. Military relevance is a keyfeature of the Investigator-Initiated award, a connection that will not bedifficult for mesothelioma researchers to establish for their grantapplications.

There is a long history of asbestos exposure in military service, and asignificant elevated risk of mesothelioma in the military population. Infact, approximately one third of mesothelioma cases have been shown toinvolve Navy and shipyard exposures. Given the long latency of the disease,even if exposures are reduced, mesothelioma will continue to affect theveteran and military population for decades to come.

This funding opportunity can serve as a vital resource to the mesocommunity and is another crucial step toward advancing the research andtreatment of mesothelioma. The Meso Foundation strongly encouragesmesothelioma investigators to consider submitting applications for fundingin 2008, as the interest and engagement shown by the community will likelybe a factor in whether mesothelioma is included as a candidate in futureyears.

If you need additional information on criteria for demonstratingmilitary relevance, please contact the Meso Foundation directly at (805)563-8400.

For more information about mesothelioma, visit http://www.curemeso.org

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-23-2008/0004741829&EDATE=