Asbestos is no joke – Asbestos Awareness Week begins today

Traditionally, April 1 has been designated by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) as Asbestos Awareness Day. The day has been officially recognized by U.S. Congress proclamation for the past six years. In recent years, the awareness effort has expanded, and now the first week of April is officially designated as Asbestos Awareness Week. The theme for the awareness week is “Knowledge is stronger than asbestos.”

On March 26, the ADAO praised the U.S. Senate for passage of the sixth annual resolution establishing National Asbestos Awareness Week. Senate Resolution 427 also urges the Surgeon General to warn and educate Americans about the severe hazards of asbestos exposure.

The ADAO is the largest organization in the United States serving as the voice of asbestos victims, and lobbies for the complete ban of asbestos and asbestos-containing products in the U.S. Asbestos exposure is linked to the development of a number of diseases, including asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs; and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and chest, abdomen or the heart. According to statistics compiled by ADAO, in the next decade it is estimated that 100,000 workers around the world will die of an asbestos-related disease. This equals 30 deaths each day.

ADAO co-founder and CEO Linda Reinstein said, “We are grateful to the U.S. Senate for unanimously passing S. Res. 427 that will increase public awareness about asbestos, a known human carcinogen. For the past six years, ADAO has seen that a week of awareness enables agencies, institutions and organizations to promote regulatory compliance and enforcement. Americans deserve and want to know how to prevent asbestos in their homes or in the workplace.”

Asbestos Awareness Week 2010 will be held April 1-7. Visit ADAO online for more information about asbestos and its commercial use; how to prevent exposure in homes, schools and workplaces; early warning symptoms and medical treatment options; and to find out more about why asbestos is still not a banned product in the U.S. and how it is used in common household products.

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Tags: ADAO, asbestos, Asbestos Awareness Day, Asbestos Awareness Week, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma

This entry was postedon Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 8:01 amand is filed under Events, News, Organizations, People.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Bionomics begins Phase II clinical trial of mesothelioma med in Australia

Bionomics, an Australian biotechnology company, has announced the beginning of Phase II clinical trials for its vascular disrupting agent BNC105 as a treatment for mesothelioma. The company announced its plans to test the drug on mesothelioma patients in December 2009. It will partner with the Australasian Lung Cancer Trials Group (ALTG) and the NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) Clinical Trial Centre.

The clinical trial involves 60 patients at 12 centers in Australia.It is a single arm, unblinded study for patients with mesothelioma who have progressed on platinum/pemetrexed chemotherapy. BNC105 will be administered on days 1 and 8 of 21-day cycles. Treatment will continue until disease progression. The primary objective is to determine the tumor response rate.

Principal investigator for the trial is Dr. Anna Nowak, professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Australia and consultant medical oncologist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. According to information on the company’s web site, Bionomics has already commenced Phase II testing of the anti-cancer properties of BNC105 in renal cancer in the United States. The commencement of this Phase II trial follows a successful BNC105 Phase I clinical trial in patients with advanced cancers at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Western Hospital, Austin Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Dr. Nowak says, “Mesothelioma remains a substantial problem in Australia and other parts of the world. An early clinical trial of BNC105 suggested some promise in mesothelioma. This Phase II trial will provide hope and an opportunity to participate in a research study for people with mesothelioma who do not have other options for treatment.”

Dr. Deborah Rathjen, CEO and Managing Director of Bionomics, says the company expects to report interim results of this study in mesothelioma patients in early 2011.

In 2005, Bionomics reports there were 597 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in Australia and in 2006 there were 486 deaths attributed to mesothelioma.

More information about the clinical trial is available online. Inquiries may be directed to:

Bionomics Limited
Dr Deborah Rathjen
CEO & Managing Director