Medscape (U.S.)
Tuesday, September 06, 2016
(repost) Two Talc-Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits Dismissed by NJ Judge
medscape
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/868437
Judge Nelson Johnson in Atlantic City ruled that the women could not produce sufficient medical evidence to show that Johnson's Baby Powder caused the cancer.
The company lost two similar trials in state court in St. Louis, Missouri.
Two Talc-Ovarian Cancer Lawsuits Dismissed by NJ Judge
A New Jersey judge dismissed two women's lawsuits last week that blamed talcum powder from Johnson & Johnson for causing their ovarian cancer, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
Judge Nelson Johnson in Atlantic City ruled that the women could not produce sufficient medical evidence to show that Johnson's Baby Powder caused the cancer.
The company lost two similar trials in state court in St. Louis, Missouri.
There are more than 1000 suits in state and federal courts accusing the drugmaker of ignoring observational evidence that tied its talc products (Shower to Shower and Johnson's Baby Powder) to ovarian cancer.
The trials in New Jersey had been scheduled to start in October.
Judge Johnson said testimony from plaintiff-hired experts about the links between talc and ovarian cancer suffered from "multiple deficiencies" and did not provide legitimate grounds for the suits, according to the news report.
"The court's decision today appropriately reflects the science and facts at issue in this litigation," Carol Goodrich, a Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman, said in a statement. "Science, research, clinical evidence, and decades of studies by medical experts around the world continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc."
Ted Meadows, an Alabama-based lawyer representing the two plaintiffs, Brandi Carl and Diana Balderrama, said the New Jersey judge's ruling conflicted with other judges' findings that there is sufficient evidence linking talc powder use and ovarian cancer, which in turn have allowed cases to go to trial. "We are planning to appeal his ruling," said Meadows last week.
In a 33-page ruling, Judge Johnson said that paid experts' review of the links between talc and cancer suffered from "narrowness and shallowness" and did not provide reliable evidence that talc could cause the disease.
But other judges have come to different conclusions and have allowed court cases to proceed.
In a St. Louis trial in February of this year, a state-court jury ordered the giant maker of healthcare products to pay $10 million in compensatory damages and $62 million in a punishment award to the family of Jackie Fox from Birmingham, Alabama, who died of ovarian cancer in 2015 at the age of 62, as reported by Medscape Medical News.
That jury decision was the first financial award in a lawsuit related to this issue.
The trials have put a spotlight on the long-studied subject of the use of talc powder in the genital area and an increased risk for ovarian cancer, which has been repeatedly — but not always — found in epidemiologic studies, as reported by Medscape Medical News.
The only current consensus among researchers and organizations such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer on the link is that talc powder is a "possible" carcinogen (Lancet Oncol. 2006;7:295-296).
The New York Times recently reported that Johnson & Johnson's talc supplier added warning labels in 2006, but J&J did not add similar warnings to its products, according to litigation documents.
Follow Medscape senior journalist Nick Mulcahy on Twitter: @MulcahyNick
U.S. (WHI) study made ‘big mistake’ about risks of menopause hormones
media (Globe and Mail from NT Times)
Original:However, Dr. JoAnn Manson, an endocrinologist and one of the principal investigators for the WHI, said: “The WHI findings have been seriously misunderstood and misinterpreted,” and millions of women for whom the benefits clearly outweigh the risks are needlessly being denied treatment. “The pendulum has swung too far,” she said.The WHI study actually had nothing to do with menopausal symptoms.
Rethinking the Use of Hormones to Ease Menopause Symptoms
By Jane E. Brody
(blog) Dana-Farber: Treatments for Ovarian Cancer: Finding Your Path [Infographic]
Insight
As September marks Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, see the infographic below to learn more about the many treatment paths an ovarian cancer patient can choose from.
open access: Patient and health care provider perceptions of cancer-related fatigue and pain
Patient and health care provider perceptions of cancer-related fatigue and pain
Results
Patient baseline demographics and disease characteristics
From June to November 2012, 550 of 1122 eligible patients (49 %) completed a survey (Appendix). Of these, 144 (26 %) were men, 406 (74 %) were women; median (minimum, maximum) age for all patients was 58 (19, 91) years; 171 (31 %) patients were ≥65 years of age; and self-rated Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status was 0 or 1 for 41 % of patients, 2 for 31 % of patients, and ≥3 for 27 % of patients. Patient-reported most recently diagnosed cancer (number [%]) included breast (212 [39]), lung (74 [14]), colon (47 [9]), ovarian (44 [8]), prostate (30 [6]), uterine (16 [3]), liver (15 [3]), brain (13 [2]), bladder (12 [2]), and rectal (12 [2]). Metastatic and/or stage 4 disease was reported by 235 (43 %) patients......Conclusions
This
study shows the importance of assessing symptoms by direct patient
report during chemotherapy treatment. HCPs continue to underestimate the
prevalence and importance of fatigue and pain for patients with cancer,
a finding that may alter the management of treatment-related symptoms
and may influence the development of patient symptom management plans.
Exceptional patients and communication in cancer care—are we missing another survival factor?
abstract
Objective
There
is increased awareness of the issue of exceptional survival beyond
expectations among cancer patients with poor prognosis, and researchers
are starting to look closely at this phenomenon. In this study, we
explored the perceptions of these “exceptional patients” as to their
understanding and insight into their unusual experience.
Methods
We
used a qualitative approach consisting of in-depth, open-ended
interviews with exceptional patients in two locations, Texas and Israel,
from 2007 to 2014. The interviews were audio-recorded and qualitatively
analyzed, and gave rise to illness narratives entailing detailed
descriptions of patients experience over the course of their disease and
treatment. A qualitative content analysis focusing on contextual
meaning was utilized.
Results
Twenty-nine
patients participated in our study. The mean years since diagnosis was
9.55 years (range, 4–23 years). All patients had received conventional
treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. One
of the prevailing themes in these interviews was related to the
patient-doctor relationship. Most participants mentioned that the
support they received from one or more physicians was a crucial factor
for their exceptional survival.
Conclusion
The
significance of patient-doctor relationship in cancer survival requires
further research. This research is especially important as it adds to
the current trend of patient centered care and points to the added value
of relationship between health providers and patients. This
relationship, as perceived by these exceptional patients, can be a
factor that adds to improved survival in cancer care.
Barriers and facilitators in (oncologists) coping with patient death in clinical oncology
abstract
Conclusions
Oncologists turn
to a number of diverse coping strategies in dealing with patient death,
but many obstacles to accessing this support were reported. Targeted
interventions for managing and coping with grief related to patient
death need to be developed to support oncologists in their emotionally
difficult work.
When fear of cancer recurrence becomes a clinical issue: a qualitative analysis of features associated with clinical fear of cancer recurrence | SpringerLink
abstract:
When fear of cancer recurrence becomes a clinical issue: a qualitative analysis of features associated with clinical fear of cancer recurrence
Purpose
Fear
of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a common experience for cancer survivors.
However, it remains unclear what characteristics differentiate
non-clinical from clinical levels of FCR. The goal of this study was to
investigate the potential hallmarks of clinical FCR.
Methods
A convenience sample of 40 participants (n = 19 female) was drawn from another study (Lebel et al. in Qual Life Res 25:311–321. doi: 10.1007/s11136-015-1088-2, 2016). The semi-structured interview for fear of cancer recurrence (Simard and Savard in J Cancer Surviv 9:481–491. doi:10.1007/s11764-015-0424-4, 2015)
was used to identify participants with non-clinical and clinical FCR
and qualitative analysis of these interviews was performed.
Results
Individuals
with clinical FCR reported the following features: death-related
thoughts, feeling alone, belief that the cancer would return,
experiencing intolerance of uncertainty, having cancer-related thoughts
and imagery that were difficult to control, daily and recurrent, lasted
30 minutes or more, increased over time, caused distress and impacted
their daily life. Triggers of FCR and coping strategies did not appear
to be features of clinical FCR as they were reported by participants
with a range of FCR scores.
Conclusions
While
features of clinical FCR found in this analysis such as intrusive
thoughts, distress and impact on functioning confirmed previous FCR
research, other features spontaneously emerged from the interviews
including “death-related thoughts,” “feeling alone,” and “belief that
the cancer will return.” The participants’ descriptions of
cancer-specific fear and worry suggest that FCR is a distinct phenomenon
related to cancer survivorship, despite similarities with psychological
disorders (e.g., Anxiety Disorders). Future research investigating the
construct of FCR, and the distinguishing features of clinical FCR across
a range of cancer types and gender is required.
negative study: A Phase I Study of Unimolecular Pentavalent Immunization of Patients with Epithelial Ovarian, FT, or PP in 1st Remission
A Phase I Study of Unimolecular Pentavalent (Globo-H-GM2-sTn-TF-Tn) Immunization of Patients with Epithelial Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, or Peritoneal Cancer in First Remission
With a median follow-up of 19 months (range, 2–39), 20 patients (83%) recurred and six (25%) died.
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