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Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma News - Return to News Menu
NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA SEMINAR TODAY
November 12, 2004 The director of clinical operations of the lymphoma and myeloma center at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston will be the featured speaker on non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Potpourri House, 3320 Troup Highway.
Dr. Luis E. Fayad, assistant professor of medicine, will speak at a "Meet The Expert on Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma" meeting, sponsored by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Northeast Texas. The meeting is free.
He will discuss cancers affecting the blood cells and explain specialized treatment at M.D. Anderson for this disease.
Shelby Brangan, patient services coordinator for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Dallas, said, "Dr. Fayad will share basic information on terminology, risk factors, diagnosis, staging and classification as well as discuss new insights and treatments."
She added, "Dr. Fayad, who will be speaking and sharing his knowledge of the disease, is a respected cancer researcher at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. This session will provide valuable information and the latest news on research and treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients looking to learn more about their disease."
She said the meeting will be a valuable and educational tool to help improve the quality of life of patients and their families who are battling blood cancers.
She said NHL is a diverse group of cancers which develop in the lymphatic system. The annual incidence of lymphoma has nearly doubled over the last 35 years. Approximately 300,000 people are living with NHL, the fifth most common cancer in the U.S.
She said lymphoma is the most common blood cancer and the third most common cancer of childhood.
There are approximately 62,250 new cases of lymphoma diagnosed each year and nearly 20,700 people will die from the disease.
She said, "The mission of the Lymphoma Research Foundation is to eradicate lymphoma and serve those touched by the disease. The Foundation is the nation's largest lymphoma-focused voluntary health organization devoted exclusively to funding lymphoma research and providing patients and healthcare professionals with critical information on the disease."
She said LRF has funded more than $18 million in lymphoma research, with 89 cents of every dollar raised going to research and education programming. People affected by lymphoma can receive free personalized information tailored to their diagnosis, help with finding a clinical trial, and easy-to-understand information on lymphoma, current treatments, and promising research.
Zenotech clones Genentech's cancer drug
Hyderabad based Zenotech Labs has cloned Genetech's blockbuster, Rituxan.
Researchers at Hyderabad based Zenotech Labs have cloned a billion dollar blockbuster Rituxan, a Genentech product for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a deadly form of blood cancer.
The product has already recieved the drug controller's nod for toxicity studies. Each vial of this complex biotech drug cost around Rs 60,000 per vial and once through, it will be sold by Zenotech at one third that price.
Jayaram Chigurupati, MD, Zenotech Labs said, "It's a very expensive drug for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. We should be able to launch it by next year, at one- third the price placed by the inventor."
That's is not all, the company is already in discussions with an European drug giant to licence out the product.
Chigurupati said, "We have been in talks with a big European company with a generic arm with regards to giving our biologicals to them."
Going by the quality of researchers at Zenotech and the research product in the pipeline of Zenotech Labs, it could be the beginning of a strong future. But what really counts are the tedious regulatory processes involved in the regulatory approvals for biotech drugs.
Group fights for firefighters with cancer
Terry Oblander
Plain Dealer Reporter
August 25, 2007 - Elyria - The fire that broke out in the stern of the freighter Roger Blough in Lorain on June 24, 1971, would do more than delay construction of the Great Lakes' largest ore carrier.
Four men constructing the ship would die in the fire that lasted four days.
And, some believe, the firefighters who fought that blaze might have walked away with cancers that would kill them someday.
Ken Afrates was among those who fought the fire. He died of pancreatic cancer exactly 22 years later - on June 24, 1993. His daughter, Kara Afrates, believes his cancer was caused by the burning diesel fuel.
Afrates tells her father's story as she campaigns for changes in Ohio laws that would acknowledge cancer as a work-related illness for firefighters, just like heart and lung diseases. That change would spare firefighters from having to fight for state benefits while battling cancer.
Firefighters joined U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton and State Rep. Matt Lundy at Lorain County Community College on Friday to listen to Afrates and others talk about the broken social contract between the firefighters and the cities that hire them.
Afrates said cancer had claimed 24 of 28 firefighters who had fought the Roger Blough fire.
Twenty-two states now have workers' compensation laws that presume that when firefighters develop cancer, it's a result of the chemicals, smoke and fumes they encountered on their jobs.
Tim Kling was an Akron firefighter for 31 years. He had cancer diagnosed in December 1994.
Kling said the city of Akron filed 12 unsuccessful appeals to block him from collecting workers' compensation for his pancreatic cancer.
Kling and Afrates argue that firefighters shouldn't have to fight for treatment and compensation they have earned. It's obvious, they argue, that firefighters come into contact with carcinogens when they rush into burning buildings.
Sutton and Brown said they are pushing federal legislation that would cover 12,000 federal firefighters with the "presumptive" language that Ohio firefighters would like.
In an interview, Lundy said he is waiting for a new study to determine a link between cancer and firefighters' duties. He said that if the study makes that link he would introduce legislation making cancer a "presumptive" occupational disease.
In November, University of Cincinnati researchers reported that firefighters are twice as likely as nonfirefighters to develop testicular cancer and significantly more likely to develop non-Hodgkins lymphoma and prostate cancer. The study also confirmed earlier findings that firefighters are at a greater risk for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells.
The study said firefighters encounter cancer-causing agents - benzene, diesel engine exhaust, chloroform, soot, styrene and formaldehyde - at fire scenes. Idling diesel fire trucks at fire stations also are potential causes of some cancers, the study said.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
toblander@plaind.com, 1-800-683-7348
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