Kazan Law Mesothelioma Research Abstracts to be Presented at the 2014 International Mesothelioma Interest Group Conference
Working as a mesothelioma attorney for as long as I have, I sometimes come up against mesothelioma research questions I can’t find answers to. Helping mesothelioma patients and their families is something you don’t stop thinking about when you go home in the evening. The plight of these people stays with you. And as important as legal justice is to helping them, medical research is important too.
Because we at Kazan Law are committed to mesothelioma research, we not only help support medical mesothelioma research – we also delve into mesothelioma research to try to find answers.
Several of the mesothelioma research areas we have been working on will be presented at a poster session at the upcoming International Mesothelioma Interest Group conference in Cape Town, South Africa later this month:
A Review of the (Scarce) Literature on Pericardial Malignant Mesothelioma
We generally think of mesothelioma as a disease affecting the lining of the lungs or abdomen. Pericardial mesothelioma develops in the thin membrane surrounding the heart, known as the pericardium. Because it is one of the rarest types of mesothelioma cancers, not as much is known about it. We needed to know more about it. With the help of our research librarian Faith Meltzer, we collected all of the pericardial malignant mesothelioma medical literature and analyzed the results.
Pericardial Mesothelioma: Accidental Treatment & Long-term Survival
This presentation explores an interesting case study of one of our clients. Ronald Nelson was born in 1970 and exposed to asbestos as a child. In 2005, he was diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma. Surgery was performed on Mr. Nelson in 2007. He lived symptom-free until 2012 – unusual for any type of mesothelioma but especially for pericardial mesothelioma. Mr. Nelson filed suit in August 2012. The case was resolved before he died in 2013, securing the financial future of his family. Associate Ryan Harris worked on this case and poster presentation with me.
Hippocrates and BAP1 Genetic Testing in Mesothelioma Litigation
This presentation focuses on the ethics of performing genetic testing without the patient’s permission or knowledge and using the results against them in a court case. Specifically, we considered the Bap 1 oncosuppressor gene, meaning an inherited factor that makes someone’s immune system less able to fight off substances that can cause cancer. This unethical use of genetic testing is being used to “blame the victim” for carrying this gene for developing mesothelioma from asbestos exposure. Our associate Irena Kin worked on our study of this mesothelioma research question with me.