Asbestos.com

For the twelfth year in a row, U.S. News & World Report named the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston the No. 1 hospital for cancer care in the country. U.S. News based this year’s 2026-2027 Best Hospitals for Cancer list on an evaluation of nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City holds onto the No. 2 spot again, praised for its research advances and patient outcomes.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser charged contractor Rocco Roberts with fraud after he allegedly exposed a Boulder family to asbestos during a basement renovation project. Roberts ran his business under the name Home Defense Solutions and, according to the Attorney General’s office, hadn’t held a valid state asbestos certification since 2018. The case traces back to February 2023, when Boulder homeowners Megan Rux and Jason Lustbader planned a basement renovation.

Johnson & Johnson is facing new legal challenges over its talc products, including a new lawsuit from a Jackson County, Missouri woman. Her lawsuit says decades of using the company’s talc-based baby powder caused her ovarian cancer. A Louisiana jury also recently awarded $10 million to the family of Lynne Roy, a woman who died in 2020 from asbestos-contaminated talc, which caused her mesothelioma.

Survivor: Maliyah H. Diagnosis: Peritoneal Mesothelioma Diagnosed On: July 2024 Maliyah H. was only 17 when doctors confirmed she has peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer that forms in the lining of the abdomen. At 19 now, she reflects on her experience living with a cancer that is most often diagnosed in people over the age of 50. “I was terrified,” she tells us. “I thought that this was it for me. No one can relate to me.

The School District of Philadelphia is moving more than 400 students and 90 staff members out of Kensington High School after a contractor disturbed asbestos during a heating and cooling system upgrade. The district plans to send them to the former Austin Meehan Middle School building in Northeast Philadelphia through January 2027. District officials say the trouble started in July, when crews removed piping in the basement as part of an HVAC project.

Uniroyal Holding Inc. and Vi-Jon, LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within days of each other, as both companies faced mounting litigation tied to products sold decades ago. Uniroyal Holding is seeking to resolve its legacy asbestos claims, while Vi-Jon is addressing lawsuits involving asbestos-contaminated talc used in body powder. Uniroyal Holding filed for bankruptcy on July 31, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

A clinical trial testing a new type of cell therapy for mesothelioma is actively recruiting patients at sites across the country, including Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. This is an early-stage trial. The therapy, called SynKIR-110, is a lab-engineered cell treatment designed to target mesothelin, a protein found on the surface of most mesothelioma tumor cells.

Survivor: Melinda B., Mark's wife and caregiver Diagnosis: Peritoneal Mesothelioma Diagnosed On: 1991 Melinda B. was a high school English teacher at a private Catholic school, mother of two young children and wife in Indiana. Her husband, Mark, worked as a manager at a men’s clothing store. She tells us their life felt ordinary. More than 30 years later, she still remembers every detail of the year everything changed. Mark was only 41 when his doctors gave him the news that he had very rare cancer.

Johnson & Johnson is proposing a $5.5 billion settlement to resolve approximately 76,000 claims and could close out more than a decade of litigation against the company. The lawsuits claim its talc-based baby powder and other talc products cause ovarian cancer. The proposal won’t take effect automatically. Law firms representing at least 95% of the remaining claimants need to accept the terms before the settlement could become final.

Our recent webinar, Mesothelioma Clinical Trials 101, walked patients and families through the basics of clinical trials. Amy Edel, senior editor and content strategist for The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com, hosted the discussion. Dr. Catherine Perrault, medical officer at The Mesothelioma Center and board-certified family physician, shared her expertise as a former practicing clinician. Dr. Perrault said every major advance in mesothelioma treatment started with a clinical trial.