World Health Organization continues to condemn the use of toxic chrysotile asbestos and the mining of the lethal substance while Quebec actively mines the cancer causing product.

Canadian provinces continue to allow LAB Chrysotile to mine asbestos materials known to cause fatal cancers, such as mesothelioma.

The family of a man who died of asbestos exposure from his work on a Navy ship won reinstatement of their claims against the makers of the vessel’s steam valves and pumps, in a California appeals court.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) today announced its support for the Surgeon General`s statement acknowledging the dangers of asbestos and thanks the U.S. Senate for continued efforts to encourage a warning. The discovery of the April 1, 2009 acting U.S. Surgeon General statement is greatly appreciated by ADAO, who has always encouraged an official warning about asbestos dangers, as recommended by a U.S. Senate Resolution establishing the first week of April as “National Asbestos Awareness Week.”

The study showed that Hanford workers were 11 times more likely to develop mesothelioma, a cancer of the lungs strongly tied to asbestos exposure, than the general population. They were three times more likely to develop multiple myeloma, a cancer found in white blood cells.

After standard treatments failed to stop or slow the progression of her cancer, the first mesothelioma patient treated with a new protocol has shown a highly favorable response. These early results are similar to the investigative protocol’s success against several other very aggressive cancers.

A team of scientists at Oxford University announce the development of a better diagnostic test for asbestos related mesothelioma lung cancer. The asbestos testing study was recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Two Vermont companies could face a combined total of nearly $30,000 in fines for allegedly demolishing buildings in Essex Junction last year without properly checking for asbestos or notifying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Rosetta Genomics, Ltd. (NASDQ:ROSG), the leading developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, and Warnex Medical Laboratories, a division of Warnex Inc. (TSX:WNX), announced today they have signed an exclusive distribution agreement in Canada for three currently-available diagnostic tests. Under the terms of the agreement, Warnex will market Rosetta Genomics’ miRview™ tests.

Exploiting the immunostimulatory capacities of dendritic cells holds great promise for cancer immunotherapy. A mouse model for malignant mesothelioma allowed us to prove that autologous dendritic cells presenting tumor antigens were very effective by (partly) inhibiting tumor growth. This study will test the feasibility and safety of a clinical trial using autologous DC as a therapeutic adjuvant for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

This trial explores the use of new radiation technology (tomotherapy), to treat mesothelioma more aggressively than has been possible before. Tomotherapy’s ability to treat unusual shaped tumours, particularly when they are wrapped around sensitive normal tissues (the lung), enable higher doses of radiation to be used and this may improve its effectiveness. We will treat 17 patients with tomotherapy and assess the breathing, symptoms, and quality of life of the patients before and after treatment