Blog | Expert commentary on mass torts, science and law issues, GlobalTort

Feb 4, 2014
2 min

Changing the Game Against Cancer – Time for New Thinking

The former CEO and President of Eli Lilly offers thoughts on changing the game against cancer in a Wall Street Journal op-ed article. The game plan, he says, should NOT depend on the same old, same old waiting for perfect information. Instead, he says, societies need to overturn the status quo, and push boldly forward without perfect data, but knowing we will build much better data along the way. For too many (not all) people with cancer, there is no time to wait. He explains

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Kirk Hartley

Feb 4, 2014
2 min

World Cancer Day 2014 – Data on New Cancers and Deaths

IARC and the UN deem February 4 World Cancer Day. Therefore, some statistics on the rampant growth of cancer. As in the past, everyone is invited to "do something." The following are quotes from a press release related to IARC’s new World Cancer Report 2014 (available here). To start, US data from the US Cancer Society: Cancer rates for children have been climbing since the 1970s. "For 2014, the American Cancer Society estimates 15,780 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed an

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Kirk Hartley

Jan 1, 2014
1 min

Pro Bono Advocacy Opportunities for Persons with Cancer – Maybe a New Resolution for 2014?

And so a new year arrives, with new opportunities. For lawyers interested in new pro bono advocacy for 2014, how about assisting persons who have cancer or are coping with after treatment impacts? A January 13, 2014 ABA webinar will focus on cancer-related pro bono advocacy needs and opportunities. The webinar is free for ABA members. One of the speakers – Joanna Morales – is especially top notch. Joanna taught the first law school course on rights of persons before, during a

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Kirk Hartley

Dec 25, 2013
1 min

Honoring Others at Christmas – Cancer-related Giving

Christmas Day – a time for peace, joy, love and hope. Imagine, however, how the day feels if you are a parent, sibling or friend of James Atherton, remembered here by another victim of Ewing’s sarcoma. Or, imagine the feeling if you are a parent of young children, and you know cancer will make this your last Christmas, perhaps on a trip provided by the Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation. Please consider honoring others you love with a donation to a cancer-related chari

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Kirk Hartley

Dec 23, 2013
1 min

Until Year End, 2x Match for Donations to Mesothelioma Research at MARF

Tis the season for donating to mesothelioma research, and obtaining a 2 for 1 match on your contribution, until year end. Where? At MARF – the non-partisan mesothelioma research group run by Mary Hesdorffer. It’s a top notch group with a stellar scientific advisory board overseeing the deployment of the money raised through MARF’s efforts. And next March, MARF will hold a public discussion of the research results – see here for specifics. Think of all the litigation revenues

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Reasons to Invest in Science – So Many Blood Cancers, and New Hope from Great New Science &#82

Kirk Hartley

Dec 8, 2013
2 min

Reasons to Invest in Science – So Many Blood Cancers, and New Hope from Great New Science &#82

(The picture above shows one of two halls used for poster sessions at ASH 2013. The picture is courtesy of Pieter Droppert, who writes about science for investors.) So many types of blood cancers – the broad classes are myelomas, lymphomas and leukemias. So many annual blood cancers. The numbers below are provided by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and address only the US; the global toll is perhaps incalculable, and almost unspeakable. Approximately every 4 minutes one per

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Kirk Hartley

Dec 2, 2013
10 min

Adoption of New MicroRNA Technology for Cancers

One part of change is creating great new scientific findings and related products. Another part relates to adoption and translation into the clinic. And then of relevance to this blog, there is the phase of translation into litigation. On the point of translation into clinical use, consider the following just-issued letter from Rosetta Genomics to its shareholders. Rosetta is a company that uses microRNA to identify the actual source of a tumor (the CUP test, for Cancer of Un

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Kirk Hartley

Nov 20, 2013
1 min

Case Report on Simultaneous Lung Cancer and Localized Mesoethelioma

A new case report may be of interest for asbestos lawyers. The report is online in full at no cost. The abstract is pasted below. "Mesothelioma is a malignant growth of mesothelial cells found in the serosal membrane of pleural, peritoneal and pericardial surfaces as a result of prolonged exposure to asbestos. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) typically presents itself in a diffuse pattern of growthover the pleura of the lung or in more rare cases as a localized focus (LMP

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Kirk Hartley

Oct 10, 2013
2 min

AML, Lung Cancer, Benzene, Smoking and Epigenetics – More Evidence that Epigenetics Matters

Epigenetic changes and cancer continue to tie together. A new example arises from CEBPA. It’s a gene. The purpose of CEBPA is to cause production of a protein needed in the transcription process by which DNA is duplicated, allowing life. Without CEBPA, the leukemic disease known as AML may arise. CEBPA mutations also are tied to other cancers, including lung cancers. Smoking appears to disrupt CEBPA. Cigarette smoke includes benzene. In fact, some researchers refer to and see

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Kirk Hartley

Sep 4, 2013
2 min

Wonder Drugs, and Sequencing Tumor Mutations

A reminder of a point stressed during June’s Perrin conference on asbestos science. There, the experts stressed the fact that gene sequencing data increasingly will be part of the medical profile for some persons stricken by mesothelioma. That means that the record for some future asbestos causation trials will include medical records with data on the specific mutation(s) found in the tumor tissue when compared to that person’s normal tissue. Why is sequencing being done? Seq

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Kirk Hartley

Jul 31, 2013
3 min

An Impetus Towards More Benzene Litigation ? Higher Cancer Incidence in Persons Living Near Georgia

A new, peer-reviewed article in Cancer (paywall) proffers evidence suggesting material increased risks of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in persons leaving in proximity to Georgia refineries and manufacturing plants that release benzene. The Science Daily summary states the following: "July 29, 2013 — The incidence of a particular type of blood cancer is significantly higher in regions near facilities that release the chemical benzene into the environment. That is the conclusion of a n

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Kirk Hartley

Jul 31, 2013
1 min

Mryiad’s Arguments to Enjoin Some Entities Testing for BRCA Genes

Kevin Noonan of Patent Docs has provided an expert, cogent summary of Myriad’s arguments to enjoin some other providers of testing for BRCA genes. However, Kevin is a steadfast advocate for broad patent claims, so view the analysis with that thought in mind. #Cancer

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Kirk Hartley

Jul 10, 2013
1 min

The Gene Patent Wars Continue – Myriad Files Suit to Enjoin BRACA Testing

The Myriad decision was supposed to end Myriad’s stranglehold on testing for mutations of BRACA genes. The patent was illegal because genes are not patentable. The patent was inequitable because Myriad was merely one of several research groups involved in the ultimately successful effort to find the BRACA genes. Unfortunately, SCOTUS did not write sweepingly enough, and so Myriad’s patent lawyers are now back with a lawsuit trying to enjoin BRACA gene testing by at least one

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Kirk Hartley

Jul 2, 2013
4 min

Guidelines for Molecular Testing for Lung Cancers

Lawyers litigating lung cancer cases will need increasing knowledge of mutations related to lung cancer, and their implications as to causation and treatment. Various professional medical groups issued April 2013 guidelines for molecular testing and targeted therapies for lung cancer. The guidelines are online and free at this page. The press release is online and pasted below: Advances in Molecular Testing Offer New Hope for Lung Cancer Patients Leading Health Care Organizat

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Cancer – The Emperor of All Maladies to Become a Six Hour Series on PBS

Kirk Hartley

Jun 4, 2013
1 min

Cancer – The Emperor of All Maladies to Become a Six Hour Series on PBS

PBS, Ken Burns and Katie Couric are collaborating to bring cancer’s biography to television in a six hour mini-series. The series will bring to the screen a powerful book known as the "Emperor of All Maladies." The book is a biography of cancer by an oncologist, Siddhartha Mukherjee, who also is a wonderful story-teller. The book won a Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction, and for many weeks sat at the top of the NYT best-seller list. Katie Couric and Stand Up to Cancer are moving

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Kirk Hartley

Jun 3, 2013
1 min

New Phases in Treating Cancer – Economic Implications for Litigation and Otherwise

New phases of cancer treatment are arriving, and have the attention of doctors, patients, the FDA and Wall Street. Trial lawyers, risk managers and insurers might think of these new treatments in other terms, such as the costs of future medical care and reasonable Medicare set asides for future treatments. One new group of treatments focuses on fine-tuning the immune system, as opposed to simply killing cancer cells with toxic chemo. A basic science view is here. A Wall Stre

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Kirk Hartley

May 29, 2013
5 min

How Much Should One Expect Lung Cancer Claiming to Increase Now that Low Dose CT Scans are Cheap and

It’s always good to listen to experts; sometimes the message also will be accurate. In the late 2000s, I chaired an international asbestos conference in London, and listened carefully to the comments of a British doctor who seemed respected by both sides of the bar. He made the then-remarkable assertion that low dose CT scans would over time become common and inexpensive, and would be found effective for finding early stage lung tumors. His prediction was surprising but sensi

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GlobalTort

Changing the Game Against Cancer – Time for New Thinking

World Cancer Day 2014 – Data on New Cancers and Deaths

Pro Bono Advocacy Opportunities for Persons with Cancer – Maybe a New Resolution for 2014?

Honoring Others at Christmas – Cancer-related Giving

Until Year End, 2x Match for Donations to Mesothelioma Research at MARF

Reasons to Invest in Science – So Many Blood Cancers, and New Hope from Great New Science &#82

Adoption of New MicroRNA Technology for Cancers

Case Report on Simultaneous Lung Cancer and Localized Mesoethelioma

Fall Out from Myriad – New Gene Patent Testing and Prices Are Starting to Fall

AML, Lung Cancer, Benzene, Smoking and Epigenetics – More Evidence that Epigenetics Matters

Wonder Drugs, and Sequencing Tumor Mutations

An Impetus Towards More Benzene Litigation ? Higher Cancer Incidence in Persons Living Near Georgia

Mryiad’s Arguments to Enjoin Some Entities Testing for BRCA Genes

Good Words from a “Cancer Thriver”

Gene Patent Battles Expand as Myriad Sues Again Over BRCA Genes

The Gene Patent Wars Continue – Myriad Files Suit to Enjoin BRACA Testing

Guidelines for Molecular Testing for Lung Cancers

Cancer – The Emperor of All Maladies to Become a Six Hour Series on PBS

New Phases in Treating Cancer – Economic Implications for Litigation and Otherwise

How Much Should One Expect Lung Cancer Claiming to Increase Now that Low Dose CT Scans are Cheap and

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