Kirk T. Hartley on LinkedIn: 2023 vs 2024 Mesothelioma Deaths (2024)

Sharing here a thought I'll offer on Wednesday with my first slide during the genomics and science panel portion of the Perrin talc litigation conference. The thought is that all stakeholders in mass tort litigation could benefit from reading a new and very well researched and written book, A Fatal Inheritance, by Lawrence Ingrassia. Considered most broadly, the book provides valuable insights into some of the many human, scientific and legal challenges inherent in understanding and seeking to ameliorate the wide range of diseases and conditions tied to genomic variables and life experiences, including most rare diseases. More specifically, its mixture of chapters: 1) tells the human side of the story of families stricken by the Li-Fraumeni cancer syndrome caused by pathogenic mutations in TP53, including examples of people with cancer grappling with the more or less inevitable "why me" question that becomes a "why us" question for members of families afflicted by cancer syndromes and other disease syndromes, 2) describes the roles of key physicians and researchers who encountered some of the families and were driven/inspired to dare to suggest and then prove that some cancers are caused by gene variants and other genomic abnormalities, 3) includes detailed notes putting in context some of the key scientific conferences and studies that were milestones on the path to current knowledge regarding hereditary cancer syndromes, and 4) provides cogent examples of some of the challenges of using CRISPR an other tools to try to develop gene therapy and other precision medicine therapies for hereditary diseases. #genomics #genomicepidemiology #epidemiology #diseasesyndromes #rarediseases #genetics #geneticcounseling #cancersyndromes #risk #anxiety #causation #cancer #tp53 #bap1 #mesothelioma #ovariancancer

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Courtesy of Jeremy Singer-Vine's weekly newsletter for his Data is Plural database, one learns of a massive new source of data for analyzing the scale and types of federal court litigation. For a hyperlinked version of the following, see the database at: https://lnkd.in/dhCdtYav. Specifically, Mr. Singer-Vine explains the new database as follows: "Federal court dockets.JournalistMatt Clarkhas compiled adatabase of more than 350 million docket entriesacross more than 13 million cases in 180+ federal courts — including the majority of district, appellate, and bankruptcy courts. The records, which Clark collected through theRSS feeds that many federal courts provide, span 2013 to the near-present. Clark’sdownloadable databaseprovides information about eachdocket entry(time filed, entry number, description, and URL), case (number, name, type, and URL), and court. Although the database does not include the docketed documents themselves, they can be retrieved viaPACERand the freeRECAP archive,among other sources.""#litigation #masstorts #classactions #patentlitigation #iplitigation

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For stakeholders in mass tort cancer cases, we are looking forward to presenting the latest ToxicoGenomica webinar with updated information on both legal and scientific developments on cancer claims in mass tort cases. For our alliance, it's already been a busy year across this nation for cases involving genomics in lawsuits involving mesotheliomas, lung cancers, blood cancers, and both non-cancer and cancer "birth defects" alleged to arise out of exposures attributed to both workplaces and environmental sites.

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The acronyms MMR and MSI should soon become familiar to stakeholders in mass tort cancer litigation. Why? Because researchers are continuing to unravel and prove the adverse consequences of MSI, a condition that arises from a range of abnormalities including pathogenic mutations of the so-called MMR genes and epigenetic processes. A recent open access article in Nature provides the following summary of the prevalence in various types of cancers, including often litigated ovarian cancers: "Loss of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) by either germline or somatic mutations and epigenetic alterations occurs in 10–30% of colorectal, endometrial, ovarian, gastric and other cancer types15,16. Cancers that are MMR deficient have a high mutational burden and frequent insertion and/or deletion events in repetitive DNA tracts—a phenotype known as MSI." https://lnkd.in/g6vBSzTE#geneticepidemiology #cancer #etiologies #causation #masstorts #mesothelioma #genetics #geneticcounseling

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Stakeholders in mass tort litigation should note the increasingly rapid advances in AlphaFold3's ability to predict/show interactions between the genetically driven proteins that are fundamental to health or sickness. Over time, the knowledge generated by AphaFold3 should allow stakeholders to understand and show precisely why some combinations of pathogenic mutations (germline or somatic) can and do (or do not) cause some cancers and other diseases. The progress will occur because advances in precision medicine drugs/therapies and diagnostics inevitably provide greater insights into the etiologies of cancers and other phenotypes. Per the article: "Now, DeepMind says, AlphaFold 3 can predict the structures of DNA, RNA, and molecules like ligands, which are essential to drug discovery. DeepMind says the tool provides a more nuanced and dynamic portrait of molecule interactions than anything previously available."#geneticepidemiology #masstorts #genomics #cancer #causation #etiologies #genetics #geneticcounseling

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Stakeholders in mass tort cases may wish to watch a free talk tomorrow that is offered to celebrate National DNA Day. The overall topics are focused on what the public does and does not know about DNA, and how to communicate with the public regarding decision-making related to DNA. Today, for mass tort stakeholders, that includes communicating with judges and jurors regarding DNA in general and diseases caused (or not) by genomic abnormalities. Pasted below are additional specifics about the speaker and the talk. "About the Talk:Biologists know what DNA is, although they’ll be the first to tell you there’s a lot about DNA they don’t know. But what does DNA mean to someone who isnota biologist?Even a scientifically literate person might have trouble explaining what DNA does, how it works, or what the discovery of its structure was so important to modern biology. How much does someone need to know about DNA to make informed decisions about genetic engineering, genetic privacy, or when life begins? We will examine these questions in this talk, but as you will see these questions are not always so easy to answer. That’s what makes this work so interesting!Speaker Biography:JoePalcahas been a science communicator for nearly four decades. From 1992-2022 he was a science correspondent for NPR, National Public Radio. Prior to that he worked for the news sections of Science and Nature. He also worked as a television producer. He came to journalism from a science background, having received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz where he worked on human sleep physiology."https://lnkd.in/dF68XmaF

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Thank you to Jorge E. Sirgo for providing his annual update on SEER's annual mesothelioma update that always arrives near tax day. See his post for the specifics. #mesothelioma #seer #masstorts #asbestos #cancer

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Another example of forward thinking companies continuing to expand access to germline genetic testing. Yes, there are possible risks but there also are possible benefits. One certain result is more genomic epidemiology. According to the article: "During the initial Genomics and MassMutual research collaboration, 1 in 5 policyowners learned that they are at a higher risk for preventable diseases.The expanded program offers eligible MassMutual policyowners aged 35-70 access to polygenic risk testing via a saliva test that identifies hidden risk for eight common conditions: atrial fibrillation, breast or prostate cancer (depending on biological sex), cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low bone density and type 2 diabetes."#genomicepideiology #genomics #polygenicrisks #causation #cancer #heartdiseasehttps://lnkd.in/gfDXQrZ2

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A new example of using searches of massive databases of genetic sequencing results and medical data to find "offsetting" or "protective" variants (mutations) that reduce the pathogenicity of other variants, such as the APOE4 gene involved in familial Alzheimer's. Note also the researchers subsequently used a non-human organism (zebra fish) to investigate and ultimately validate the hypothesis arising from the database study. I mention the use of non-human organisms because some trial lawyers incorrectly disparage the value of well-planned and carefully controlled functional genomic studies using non-human organisms. In fact, careful, well controlled non-human studies have been and continue to be incredibly important in multiple contexts, including cancer research. Article is open access in a journal with a high impact factor.#genomicepidemiology #genomics #causation #wholegenomesequencing #biobanks #alzheimershttps://lnkd.in/d2qxa97z

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