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Have You Received a Mesothelioma Diagnosis?
Exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, an incurable cancer. The party responsible for a mesothelioma patient’s asbestos exposure may be held liable for that exposure, and patients may recover compensation with the help of a California mesothelioma lawyer.
What are the emerging trends in mesothelioma treatment, research, and patient care? If you receive a mesothelioma diagnosis, what treatment will your doctor recommend, and how will you pay for that treatment?
From anywhere in the nation, a California mesothelioma attorney can help you identify the party responsible for your asbestos exposure and help you pursue the compensation you need for medical treatment, lost earnings, and related damages and losses.
What is Emerging in Mesothelioma Research?
Medical scientists are seeking new ways to avert, diagnose, and treat mesothelioma, but because mesothelioma is rare, it’s difficult to conduct extensive studies. Another difficulty for researchers is that mesothelioma may take three or four decades to develop and become detectable.
Scientists are developing tests to diagnose mesothelioma in its earliest stages. One team of researchers found protein markers that are linked to mesothelioma in the bloodstream of workers who had been exposed to asbestos. Those protein markers allowed the researchers to detect mesothelioma up to a year before it would otherwise be diagnosed.
However, more research is needed to determine if this test is reliable. Another test may provide an early diagnosis by studying the fluid that’s removed from around the lungs. More research may develop new tests that may diagnose mesothelioma much earlier than is currently possible.
Are There New Treatments for Mesothelioma?
Earlier this year, the drug ADI-PEG20 (also known as pegargiminase) was hailed by researchers in the United Kingdom as the most important mesothelioma research breakthrough in decades. Researchers say the drug may bring hope to mesothelioma survivors and their families.
Pegargiminase is a drug that prevents cancer cells from absorbing arginine, an amino acid, from the bloodstream. If cancer cells lose their capacity to absorb arginine from the bloodstream, their ability to expand is impaired.
The findings regarding pegargiminase are the result of a clinical trial conducted by researchers at Queen Mary University of London. The trial included mesothelioma patients from Italy, Taiwan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
How Was the Pegargiminase Clinical Trial Conducted?
During the clinical trial, 50 percent of the patients were given chemotherapy along with injections of pegargiminase for two years, while the other 50 percent received chemotherapy and a placebo for two years.
Researchers report that chemotherapy plus pegargiminase increased the median survival by 1.6 months. Patients given chemotherapy and pegargiminase survived an average of 9.3 months, while the patients given chemotherapy and a placebo survived for an average of 7.7 months.
Queen Mary University researchers also found that pegargiminase was well tolerated, and no negative side effects or safety issues were detected or indicated. The findings of this clinical trial were published in the April 2024 issue of the medical journal JAMA Oncology.
What Other New Mesothelioma Treatments Are Emerging?
Immunotherapy is another promising mesothelioma treatment. Mesothelioma patients who undergo immunotherapy are provided with medication that enables the immune system to locate and attack cancer cells effectively.
Immunotherapy may also suppress a mesothelioma patient’s immune system in order to allow other treatments to work more efficiently. Other emerging treatments for mesothelioma include epigenetic therapy, gene therapy, and photodynamic therapy.
In a separate development, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved, in February 2024, a “fast track” status for the UV1 cancer vaccine, when combined with nivolumab and ipilimumab, for mesothelioma patients.
What is the Cost of Mesothelioma Treatment?
Standard mesothelioma treatment can cost more than $100,000 depending on the treatment, your medical providers, and your insurance coverage. The cost of chemotherapy alone for a mesothelioma patient may exceed $40,000.
Your health insurance may cover some of these costs, but your medical expenses will nevertheless be exorbitant. Insurance companies shift their costs to patients with copays and deductibles. Medicare beneficiaries may have to pay excessive costs for standardized treatments.
Health insurance may or may not cover part of a clinical trial’s costs. The sponsors of some clinical trials may pay for all or part of a patient’s costs, but each clinical trial is different. If you’re interested in clinical trials, your doctor may know about a trial that is right for you
How Do Mesothelioma Attorneys Help Their Clients?
If you file a personal injury claim against the party responsible for your asbestos exposure, you’ll need an attorney who has considerable negotiating experience as well as trial experience. Most mesothelioma claims are settled in private, out-of-court negotiations.
If the party responsible for your asbestos exposure offers no reasonable settlement in the out-of-court negotiations, or if that party disputes liability for your asbestos exposure, your lawyer will:
- take your mesothelioma claim to trial
- tell the jury how you developed mesothelioma
- ask the jurors to find in your favor and order payment of your compensation
Some mesothelioma patients may also be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Your California mesothelioma attorney will recommend the best legal path to take. Mesothelioma attorneys accept no upfront payments but instead handle claims on a contingent fee basis.
Take Your Mesothelioma Claim to Frost Law Firm
When Frost Law Firm represents you on a contingent fee basis, you will owe no attorney’s fee until you are compensated. Your initial case evaluation with a California mesothelioma lawyer at Frost Law Firm is also offered with no cost or obligation.
We have a history of winning compensation worth several million dollars for a number of our clients, and we win the most complicated mesothelioma cases – cases that other firms won’t take. Your initial case evaluation is your opportunity to obtain personalized legal advice from an experienced mesothelioma lawyer and to learn about recovering compensation in your own state.
Frost Law Firm teams with mesothelioma lawyers across the nation to ensure the best possible representation for our clients. To schedule your first case evaluation from anywhere in the U.S., call Frost Law Firm now at 866-FROST-WINS. If you’ve developed mesothelioma because someone else was negligent, we will fight to recover the compensation you are entitled to by law.
