The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation this week announced the launch of the National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank, a project four years in the making. The Bank is a central online database where doctors and researchers across the globe can apply to receive tissue samples for mesothelioma research.

Christopher Hahn, director of MARF, said, "We have long advocated for federal research funding and the creation of a mesothelioma tissue bank. It is an important resource, expected to greatly advance the genetic and protein profiling of the meso cancer cell. This will further the development of mesothelioma treatments and the search for a cure."

The Bank system collects assorted data from various mesothelioma-specimen, and organizes it into a categorized, annotated engine. Researchers can search for tissue based on criteria like Stage of Disease, Treatment Received, and Level of Asbestos Exposure.

The project is a collaborative effort between MARF, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. To learn more about the bank, visit mesotissue.org.

On Friday, workers in Tokyo filed a 6.6 billion yen (about 444 million U.S. dollars) class action lawsuit against the government and manufacturers who, they believe, were responsible for causing asbestos-related disease. The plaintiffs claim that the government and manufacturers knew of the dangers of asbestos inhalation but failed to take proper precautions, including ceasing to promote asbestos as a cheap fire retardant and banning production of the material.

The claim states that after working among asbestos, 172 employees developed mesothelioma, lung cancer, or have died as a result of exposure. They charge the government with failing to react quickly to international asbestos warnings issued in 1972. "We will do our utmost until we win the suit," said Kazuo Miyajima, 78, who heads the group of plaintiffs.

A recent article states, "After a 2005 revelation that residents who lived near a factory in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture developed diseases related to asbestos, the government implemented a law in 2006 which provides monetary assistance to asbestos victims and relatives of deceased family members. The plaintiffs argue that the amount of financial assistance given to families and victims of asbestos-related diseases is not sufficient."

Eli Lilly & Co. said giving advanced lung cancer patients its Alimta drug after chemotherapy increased patients' survival without tumor recurrence or progression.

The preliminary study results were released ahead of the company's presentation later this month at the 44th annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago.

The trial compared the safety and effectiveness of Alimtra versus a placebo in 663 patients with stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, whose disease had not progressed after four rounds of chemotherapy. Patients given Alimtra lived 4.3 months without their tumors returning or progressing, compared with 2.6 months for patients taking placebo.For more, click here.

A study was released yesterday announcing that chemotherapy did not statistically increase survival rates or longevity among a group of patients with mesothelioma.

The study, appearing in this week's issue of The Lancet, states that a group of mesothelioma patients was divided into three sections: two sections received chemotherapy and symptom treatment, the other section received only symptom treatment. Symptom treatment includes painkillers, steroids, ronchodilators and palliative radiotherapy to control the cancer's effects. Of the two sections receiving chemo, one section was using four cycles of mitomycin, vinblastine and cisplatin every three weeks and the other was using one injection of vinorelbine every week for 12 weeks.

The survival rates among the three groups were so similar, that the differences were not considered to be statistically significant. When asked to rate their quality of life based on characteristics such as shortness of breath, pain, and physical functioning, patients from all three groups responded with comparable answers.

"The addition of chemotherapy to ASC offers no significant benefits in terms of overall survival or quality of life. However, exploratory analyses suggested that vinorelbine merits further investigation," the authors concluded. These preliminary results will undoubtedly spark a chain of mesothelioma investigations. To read more on the findings, click here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored a Hamden, CT man for his effort in protecting children against asbestos.

Ron Skomro, supervisor of the state Department of Public Health's Asbestos Program, worked with suppliers to stop the sale of art clay in the state that contains asbestos-containing talc. At the beginning of the decade, several art suppliers were using talc in their products; items such as crayons, doodled with and chewed on by children everywhere, used asbestos in their formula. Skomoro's work represents the latest step in a long struggle to remove asbestos-containing products from the market.

Skomoro began his efforts after high levels of asbestos were discovered in a school's art room and traced to clay use. Talc is included in clay to lower the temperature at which it needs to be heated, and some forms of talc are naturally contaminated with asbestos. Skomoro lobbied until the Art and Creative Materials Institute mandated that member manufacturers reformulate their products to remove asbestos.

The EPA gave Skomro its 2008 Environmental Merit Award at a ceremony in Boston.