Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise Against Mesothelioma

New research shows that a new and unique approach to cancer immunotherapy may improve survival in patients with mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. Immunotherapy is used to stimulate the body’s immune system against cancer. For example, according to the Merck Manual Home Health Handbook, vaccines comprised of antigens derived from tumor cells can boost the body’s production of antibodies or immune cells (T lymphocytes). Extracts of weakened tuberculosis bacteria (which are known to boost the immune system) have been successful when introduced into the bladder to prevent bladder tumors. Continue reading →

Very high magnification micrograph of a malignant epithelioid mesothelioma
Malignant epithelioid mesothelioma

New research shows that a new and unique approach to cancer immunotherapy may improve survival in patients with mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. Immunotherapy is used to stimulate the body’s immune system against cancer. For example, according to the Merck Manual Home Health Handbook, vaccines comprised of antigens derived from tumor cells can boost the body’s production of antibodies or immune cells (T lymphocytes). Extracts of weakened tuberculosis bacteria (which are known to boost the immune system) have been successful when introduced into the bladder to prevent bladder tumors.

Now, a team of researchers with the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center report that “a protein engineered to combine a molecule targeting a tumor-cell-surface antigen with another protein that stimulates several immune functions, slowed tumor growth and prolonged survival in animal models of both tumors.” The team, which includes senior author of the report and Director of the MGH Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center Dr. Mark Poznansky, created a vaccine that stimulates a patient’s own dendritic cells, rather than utilizing the standard approach that requires “extracting a patient’s own immune cells, priming them with tumor antigens and returning them to the patient,” says Poznansky. Dr. Poznansky adds that the latter process is considered complicated and costly, and offers a poor prognosis.

The body’s dendritic cells are antigen presenting cells that, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), mediate several physiologic components of immunogenicity (the ability to produce an immune response) such as the acquisition of antigens in tissues, the migration to lymphoid organs, and the identification and activation of antigen-specific T cells.

According to the study, the MGH team’s approach begins with the engineered protein, which in this case fuses an antibody fragment targeting a protein called mesothelin — expressed on the surface of such tumors as mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer — to a protein from the tuberculosis bacteria that stimulates the activity of dendritic and other immune cells. In this system, the dendritic cells are activated and targeted against tumor cells while remaining inside the patient’s body.

The team concluded that the mesothelin-targeted fusion protein attaches to mesothelin on mesothelioma (or ovarian cancer) cells, then activates dendritic cells, and enhances the cells’ processing and presentation of several different tumor antigens, inducing a number of T-cell-based immune responses.

In animal studies including both types of tumors, treatment with the fusion protein slowed tumor growth and extended survival significantly. The team concluded that this is likely the result of the activity of cytotoxic CD8 T cells. Cytotoxic CD8 T cells monitor all the cells of the human body. They are equipped to destroy any others that express foreign antigen fragments in their class I molecules.

The MGH team notes that, like other types of immunotherapy, this innovative cancer vaccine is nontoxic, it may offer a better survival rate than other vaccines, it’s a lower cost approach to treating cancer, and it even has the potential to lower the risk of cancer recurrence. Researchers also believe that in the future this approach could ultimately be used to target any type of cancer.

Sources

Do I have a claim?

Video: Joseph P. Whyte, Esq. of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. explains the vast amount of asbestos cases the firm has handled and how they can help victims of asbestos exposure. Continue reading →

We start the process just by meeting with you or your loved one to find out what they did for a living, where they did it, whether they had any other pursuits like automobile repair or home remodeling that might have exposed them to asbestos products. We then take that information and compare it to the database that we’ve built up over the twenty-five years that we’ve been helping people exposed to asbestos by looking at the trades: electricians, we’ve represented steel workers, we’ve represented automotive workers, we’ve represented drywall workers we’ve represented, people in all sorts of construction trades and we’ve represented them in numerous locations. Chances are that we’ve represented somebody who may have performed your same trade in your same location and by knowing what you did and where you did it, we usually already have a pretty good idea of the responsible parties.

What if I was exposed to asbestos decades ago?

Video: Joseph P. Whyte, Esq. of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., explains the legal process for asbestos claims even if a person was exposed decades ago. Continue reading →

Many of our clients are worried about the fact that they were exposed to asbestos thirty or forty years ago on the job and they wonder how they’re going to be able to remember what happened so long ago. Well, the fact is that we’ve represented people of just about every trade so if, for instance, you’re a pipefitter who worked in a particular location, chances are we’ve had a very similar case, if not almost exactly the same. We’ve also got a database of records of these companies going back almost thirty years for as long as we’ve been doing this litigation. So we will spend the time with you to make sure that you remember everything you possibly can.

Mesothelioma Survivor Stories

Around 2,000-3,000 new mesothelioma cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Of these cases, around 70 to 80 percent of the patients have been heavily exposed to asbestos and the vast majority of cases are in men over the age of 65. In fact, it is estimated that men are anywhere from 4 to 5 times more likely to develop mesothelioma than women. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), this is likely because men are more likely to have worked in jobs with heavy exposure to asbestos. Continue reading →

Around 2,000-3,000 new mesothelioma cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Of these cases, around 70 to 80 percent of the patients have been heavily exposed to asbestos and the vast majority of cases are in men over the age of 65. In fact, it is estimated that men are anywhere from 4 to 5 times more likely to develop mesothelioma than women. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), this is likely because men are more likely to have worked in jobs with heavy exposure to asbestos.

With statistics like these, people are often baffled when they hear that a woman or anyone in their 30s has been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Unfortunately, even though this condition is rarely found in women and the young, it can happen and it is usually the result of second-hand exposure. Such was the case for a Minnesota woman who discovered she had the disease at the age of 36.

Just three months after giving birth to her daughter, Heather Von St. James was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, rare form of cancer that affects the lining of the lung and chest wall (pleura). Pleural mesothelioma may also spread into the pericardium (the sheet of tissue covering the heart), which is very close to the pleura. Naturally, the diagnosis stunned the Roseville, Minnesota mom who didn’t know much about asbestos or mesothelioma. Soon, however, Von St. James discovered where she had been exposed to asbestos and it wasn’t in the workplace.

Von St. James grew up in South Dakota as the daughter of a construction worker. In a news story featured on ABC 5 Eyewitness News, KSTP (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Von St. James says she used to wear her father’s coat when he came home from work because, she says, “it felt good to me and it was something I loved to do.” Her father often worked on demolition and clean up jobs which left his clothes, shoes, and car covered in gray, crusty asbestos dust. It was this second-hand asbestos dust that gave Von St. James cancer.

In her mid-30s, Von St. James felt a weight that she described as “a truck parked”on her chest. She couldn’t breathe. After being diagnosed with mesothelioma, Von St. James underwent an extrapleural pneumonectomy to remove her left lung. Today, Von St. James is an eight-year mesothelioma survivor and she shares her story to help raise awareness about the disease and the dangers of asbestos.

Asbestos Today

Although asbestos is heavily regulated in the U.S. and banned in 44 countries, the manufacture, importation, processing and distribution of the following products is still legal:

  • Automatic transmission components
  • Brake blocks
  • Cement corrugated sheet
  • Cement flat sheet
  • Cement pipe
  • Cement shingle
  • Clothing
  • Clutch facings
  • Disk brake pads
  • Drum brake linings
  • Friction materials
  • Gaskets
  • Millboard
  • Non-roofing coatings
  • Pipeline wrap
  • Roof coatings
  • Roofing felt
  • Vinyl floor tile

For more information about asbestos regulations in the U.S., visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 2.epa.gov/asbestos/us-federal-bans-asbestos.

Sources

ABC 5 Eyewitness News, KSTP-Minneapolis/St. Paul
American Cancer Society
American Lung Association
Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers Association (ACPMA), New Delhi
Cancer Research UK
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
University of California San Francisco, Department of Thoracic Surgery

What is a deposition?

Video: Joseph P. Whyte, Esq. of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. explains what a deposition is. Continue reading →

A deposition is an opportunity for the lawyers for the defendant asbestos companies to ask you questions in person that you answer under oath. It is a formal legal proceeding but we spend the time with you to get you ready for this process. Also, one thing you need to remember is that all you have to do is tell the truth as best you know it. They’ll use this to evaluate your case to determine how much it’s worth and which companies we can prove a case against.

Ed Fansher: Asbestos Cancer Victim

Edward’s Work History with Asbestos Edward T. Fansher is my name. I started at Union Electric in 1967 at the Venice Powerhouse working as an ash handler and working in the coal game. The minute I walked into that place we were in contact with asbestos because they had it on all their pipes. I was not… Continue reading →

Edward’s Work History with Asbestos

Edward T. Fansher is my name. I started at Union Electric in 1967 at the Venice Powerhouse working as an ash handler and working in the coal game. The minute I walked into that place we were in contact with asbestos because they had it on all their pipes.

I was not an insulator, but I was exposed to it because there was dust. And then I got into the insulator trade and I worked with the insulation, cutting it and airing it. Never wore a respirator because they never gave us any warning that there was asbestos in it.

I did it all over the system, Venice, Sioux, Meramec, Rush Island, Labadie. That’s the five plants I worked at because I used to travel. And they all had them. They all had asbestos in them.

I’ve had a lot of buddies die from this, maybe five, six. In fact, some of them weren’t even insulators. They were welders. Like I said, it’s hard to say. You just do your job. A guy says, “You’ve got to go up and uncover these pipes. So and so’s got to get to these pipes. They’re going to revamp the whole thing.” So, you go up there and you start tearing the insulation off, get it all cleaned off.

Choosing Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C.

You know why I went there? First thing about that firm, the first time I met her, she shook my hand and looked me right square in the eye and she kept her eyes right on my eyes. She didn’t look down at the floor, or off to the side or anything. And she told me what she was going to do for me and didn’t wink, man.

How can I say it? I don’t think I’ve met more of an honest person in my life besides my wife, than Liz. That’s the honest to God truth. That’s the best way I can put it. They have treated me as well as you can be treated. They’re always there when I call. If I need something I call, or if I go to the office, they always wait on me. I take stuff back and forth to the office once in a while. I don’t know what to say. It’s been great, everybody at that firm.

Avalanche of Asbestos Lawsuits Aimed at Georgia-Pacific

Like many manufacturers of building materials and chemicals, Georgia-Pacific was a top supplier to the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. The products being supplied contained asbestos, which was precisely what the military ordered thanks to the amazing heat-resistant properties the mineral exhibited. Because of the widespread use of asbestos-containing products (ACMs) in the… Continue reading →

Like many manufacturers of building materials and chemicals, Georgia-Pacific was a top supplier to the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. The products being supplied contained asbestos, which was precisely what the military ordered thanks to the amazing heat-resistant properties the mineral exhibited. Because of the widespread use of asbestos-containing products (ACMs) in the armed forces, thousands of members of the military, and others that worked in military construction and shipbuilding, were exposed to asbestos. This was before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared war on asbestos-containing products and the companies that used it in manufacturing.

Today, asbestos is no longer revered for its heat-resistant properties. Instead, the mineral is feared because it is the only known cause of an aggressive form of cancer – mesothelioma.

As such, asbestos is banned in roughly 55 countries and partially banned in the U.S., making the manufacture and distribution of ACMs difficult. Most companies have stopped using the mineral altogether, including Georgia-Pacific (GP).

Unfortunately, by the time GP ceased using asbestos, it was already too late. GP’s joint compound – a putty-like building material which contained the cancer-causing mineral – hasn’t been used in more than 30 years, but it is still at the center of an estimated 60,000 asbestos legal claims against the company.

Joint Compound Banned, Irreversible Damage Surfaces Decades Later

In 1978, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned Georgia-Pacific’s joint compound, which was marketed under the name “Ready-Mix,” along with all other asbestos-containing joint compounds. Georgia-Pacific stated that it fully supported the ban, but says it ceased using asbestos in its product in 1977, and promptly switched to a safer substitute. However, before the switch, GP’s products contained between 2% and 7% chrysotile (white) asbestos. It is now known that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure – of any type.

It wasn’t until the new millennium that former construction workers, members of the military, and others began coming forward after exhibiting symptoms of asbestos exposure, such as fatigue, shortness of breath, tightening in the chest, persistent cough, and blood (coughed up from the lungs). Thousands of these workers, with the help of doctors, legal teams, and family and friends, traced their asbestos exposure back to Ready-Mix and other similar products.

Georgia-Pacific Launches Research Program as Liability Soars

Around 2005, as cases of asbestos-related diseases began to mount, Georgia-Pacific launched a “secret” $6 million research program to help defend itself against the legal claims by construction workers, former members of the military, and others. In 2006, the company hired a toxicologist to oversee animal testing, along with two consulting firms – Exponent and Environ – in order to “gauge the accuracy of decades-old studies, like those done by Mt. Sinai, showing high fiber counts associated with the sanding and sweeping of joint compound.”

Exponent was paid $3.3 million and Environ $1.5 million by Georgia-Pacific. Ultimately, after serious speculation about “fraud” and “junk science” and rulings against the company and its research by a New York appeals court, the findings were never used as a defense by Georgia-Pacific. In April 2005, Georgia-Pacific was taken private after being acquired by Koch Industries for $21 billion. There are no reports on how many of the 60,000 cases against Georgia-Pacific are still pending, but the total amount of liability is estimated at $1 billion.

Sources

Are Pleural Plaques Dangerous?

Pleural plaques are areas of hard, scar-like tissue in the outer lining of the lungs (pleura) and the muscle below the lungs (diaphragm). They are caused by exposure to asbestos, which can also cause the buildup of fluid between the lungs and the pleura (called pleural effusions), pleural thickening, and lung cancer. Exposure to asbestos… Continue reading →

Pleural plaques are areas of hard, scar-like tissue in the outer lining of the lungs (pleura) and the muscle below the lungs (diaphragm). They are caused by exposure to asbestos, which can also cause the buildup of fluid between the lungs and the pleura (called pleural effusions), pleural thickening, and lung cancer. Exposure to asbestos can also cause asbestosis, which is characterized by scarring in the lungs (called fibrosis) and it is the only known cause of mesothelioma.

Asbestos has been banned in more than 40 countries and it is strictly regulated in the U.S. However, before the mineral became Public Enemy Number One, thousands of workers in dozens of industries were exposed for prolonged periods. Decades later, many of these workers developed asbestos-related conditions such as pleural plaques. These individuals worked in the construction and automotive industries, in oil refineries, mining, and chemical plants, and in steel mills, plumbing, pipe-fitting, insulation, and more. Asbestos use was also rampant in every single branch of the military. It was used in shipbuilding, and to construct planes, aircraft carriers, base facilities, and more.

Before the dangers of asbestos were widely known, it was believed that only prolonged exposure to large quantities of the mineral could cause irreversible damage to the lungs or fatal disease. It is now known that any level of exposure to asbestos can be hazardous to your health.

Symptoms of Pleural Plaques

Like other types of asbestos-related diseases, pleural plaques may cause impaired lung function. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), “as the pleura thickens, it can trap and compress part of the lung,” leading to labored breathing and tightening in the chest. However, the NHLBI also states that this is uncommon and in most cases, pleural plaques do not cause any other symptoms.

The British Lung Foundation (BLF) adds that if you have pleural plaques, it does not mean that you will go on to develop a more serious disease, or that you have a more serious disease at the moment. In fact, the BLF says people live with pleural plaques for many years without even knowing they have them.

Most people with pleural plaques find out that they have them through a chest X-ray or CT scan. The BLF notes that “the risk associated with exposure to X-rays or a CT scan is far greater than the benefits of finding out that you have pleural plaques.”

Treatment Options for Pleural Plaques

While pleural plaques are irreversible, they are benign and considered the least serious asbestos-related condition. In the majority of cases, they do not have to be treated. However, once you have been diagnosed with pleural plaques, the worst thing you can do is continue working in a hazardous environment or smoke. Smoking and further exposure to asbestos can still exacerbate the condition and lead to respiratory defects that may be categorized as a disability. Further, pleural plaques can increase the risk of developing other more serious asbestos-related diseases anywhere from 1% to 5%.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the attorneys at Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. can help. Contact us today at 800-782-8492 (toll-free) to schedule a free, no-obligation case evaluation or click here to email us. We look forward to discussing your case.

Sources

For more information about pleural plaques, please review:

Amphibole Asbestos, Erionite Have Adverse Effect on Immune System

For decades it was believed that mesothelioma, a particularly aggressive form of cancer, was caused exclusively by asbestos exposure. Now, a number of studies suggest that exposure to another mineral known as “erionite” may also cause mesothelioma. Some studies have progressed a step further to suggest that not only are exposure to asbestos and erionite… Continue reading →

For decades it was believed that mesothelioma, a particularly aggressive form of cancer, was caused exclusively by asbestos exposure. Now, a number of studies suggest that exposure to another mineral known as “erionite” may also cause mesothelioma. Some studies have progressed a step further to suggest that not only are exposure to asbestos and erionite the main causes of mesothelioma, they may also have an adverse effect on the body’s immune system.

A team of researchers from Idaho State University’s (ISU) Department of Biological Sciences and Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) found that:

“Erionite and tremolite caused increased cytokine {nonantibody proteins released by a specific type of cell as part of the body’s immune response} production belonging to the TH17 profile including IL-17, IL-6, TGF-β, and TNF-α. The frequency of ANA was increased in mice treated with erionite or amphibole compared to saline-treated mice. IL-17 and TNF-α were elevated in the sera of mice treated with erionite. The frequency of immune complex deposition in the kidneys increased from 33% in saline-treated mice to 90% with erionite.”

From this, the ISU team concluded that “both erionite and amphibole asbestos induce autoimmune responses in mice, suggesting a potential for adverse effects in exposed communities.” Among other benefits, this discovery may help doctors and researchers detect erionite and asbestos-exposure in the absence of other signs and symptoms which, in many cases, do not appear until decades after exposure.

About Erionite

Erionite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that belongs to a group of minerals called zeolites. Once considered “full-fledged mineral commodities,” zeolites have been used in everything from pet litter, animal feed, and horticultural applications to oil and gas absorbent, odor control, and water purification, with pet litter, animal feed, and horticultural applications accounting for 65% of all applications.

Although erionite remains unregulated, applications have been somewhat limited to materials used to pave roads. Still, according to a recent report by the National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NTP), deposits of fibrous erionite can be found in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. Erionite fibers have been detected in samples of road dust in Nevada and in erionite-contaminated gravel on roads in North Dakota.

As such, residents of these areas may be exposed to erionite in ambient air, says the NTP, thus increasing the risk of developing mesothelioma.

About Amphibole Asbestos

There are six types of asbestos: amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, actinolite, tremolite, and chrysotile. The first five types are called amphibole asbestos. Although amphibole asbestos is not the most common form of asbestos used in industrial applications (chrysotile, or “white asbestos,” is the most common), it is still considered deadly. Some studies suggest that it is more cancer-causing than chrysotile, while others claim it’s less potent in causing mesothelioma. The topic still remains controversial.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the attorneys at Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. can help. Contact us today at 800-782-8492 (toll-free) to schedule a free, no-obligation case evaluation or click here to email us. We look forward to discussing your case.

100 Questions & Answers About Mesothelioma, Second EditionSources

  • Harvey I. Pass, MD, NYU School of Medicine and Clinical Cancer Center
  • Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR)
    ATSDR.cdc.gov
  • American Cancer Society (ACS)
    Cancer.org
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
    CDC.gov
  • Merriam-Webster, MedlinePlus
    Merriam-webster.com/medlineplus
  • National Cancer Institute (NCI)
    Cancer.gov
  • National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    NTP.niehs.nih.gov
  • Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Volume 275, Issue 3, 15 March 2014, Pages 257-264
    Sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041008X14000349<
  • U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), PubMed
    NCBI.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed