Medical News Today recently reported the FDA has approved a new drug used to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma, a rare cancer usually associated with asbestos exposure. The drug is called Alimta, or pemetrexed disodium, and it's distributed by Eli Lilly and Company. Alimta is intended to be used along with cisplatin.

It's further reported in a randomized clinical trial, patients receiving Alimta along with cisplatin lived an average of 12 months after the trial began, compared with nine months for those on cisplatin alone.

Reuters reports that the COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex, usually prescribed for arthritis, has a marked effect on the asbestos-related cancer malignant mesothelioma in lab and animal experiments, according to a report from Italy.

The Sun Newspaper in the UK reports a woman died from inhaling deadly asbestos dust after years of washing her husband’s work clothes. An inquest as to the cause of death heard she shook out her carpenter Dennis’s overalls before washing — freeing particles of the deadly material asbestos. The local coroner recorded a verdict of death from an industrial disease.

She contracted the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma last June and died last month. Her husband is also ill and receiving medical treatment.