Blood Test May Reveal History of Exposure to Asbestos
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Blood Test May Reveal History of Exposure to Asbestos

ByAlex Strauss

Small, non-coding bits of RNA in blood serum may offer a way to measure a person’s exposure to asbestos and predict their risk for mesothelioma.  Malignant mesothelioma is just one of several types of cancer linked to exposure to asbestos. But, unless a person knows they have been exposed, doctors might not even think to look for it, even when a patient develops early symptoms.  Researchers at Italy’s University of Ferrara have identified a microRNA in blood serum that can act as a biomarker for asbestos in the body. The discovery could lead to a blood test to identify high-risk people.  Exposure to Asbestos and Malignant Mesothelioma Before asbestos, mesothelioma was virtually unheard of. In fact, when the first asbestos-exposed…

New CAR-T Cell Therapy for Mesothelioma Circumvents Immune Suppression
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New CAR-T Cell Therapy for Mesothelioma Circumvents Immune Suppression

ByAlex Strauss

A new cancer treatment based on CAR-T cell therapy may have found a way to undermine a key protective mechanism in mesothelioma tumors. The treatment is called UCARTMESO. It is being developed by a French biopharmaceutical company called Cellectis. UCARTMESO targets cells that overexpress the protein mesothelin. It undermines some key genes in these cells preventing them from sending immune suppressive signals.  Immune suppressive elements in the area surrounding mesothelioma tumors have historically kept CAR-T cell therapy from working as well as it does for some other types of cancer.  But the developers of UCARTMESO say their approach may finally make CAR-T cell therapy a viable option for patients fighting asbestos cancer.  They presented their findings at the Society for…

Surgery-Based Multimodal Treatment Improves Survival for Italian Mesothelioma Patients
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Surgery-Based Multimodal Treatment Improves Survival for Italian Mesothelioma Patients

ByAlex Strauss

A new Italian report suggests that a surgery-based multimodal treatment approach to mesothelioma can help patients live longer with few serious side effects.  The new study comes from Careggi University Hospital in Florence. Thoracic oncologists tracked the outcomes of 12 of their mesothelioma patients since 2017. All of the patients had early-stage pleural mesothelioma of the epithelioid subtype. Results showed that none of them died within the first year after surgery-based multimodal treatment. More than half lived for at least three years.  These are considered very positive results for a cancer that often claims lives within months of diagnosis.  Understanding Surgery-Based Multimodal Treatment Some types of cancer can be successfully treated with just one type of therapy. Pleural mesothelioma is…

Artificial Intelligence Tool Measures Mesothelioma Treatment Response
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Artificial Intelligence Tool Measures Mesothelioma Treatment Response

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have developed an artificial intelligence tool that could revolutionize the way doctors plan and monitor mesothelioma treatment.  The University team collaborated with Scottish firm Canon Medical Research Europe to develop an AI prototype for detecting pleural mesothelioma. Canon Medical specializes in medical imaging software.  Pleural mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure. The new artificial intelligence tool is designed to find and measure mesothelioma tumors on CT scans.  It can be challenging even for cancer experts to detect tiny changes in mesothelioma tumors. But the AI tool can quickly reveal how well or poorly a patient is doing on a treatment like chemotherapy. The sooner doctors know if…

Immunotherapy Drug Durvalumab Shines in Most Recent Mesothelioma Trial
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Immunotherapy Drug Durvalumab Shines in Most Recent Mesothelioma Trial

ByAlex Strauss

Another new study confirms what Johns Hopkins researchers have been banking on – that the immunotherapy drug durvalumab can make chemotherapy more effective for mesothelioma patients.  Durvalumab (IMFINZI) is an immune checkpoint inhibitor. It works by blocking the action of PD-1, a protein that mesothelioma cells use to protect themselves.  Researchers theorized that deactivating PD-1 with the immunotherapy drug durvalumab might make mesothelioma tumors more responsive to chemotherapy. The latest study results, published in Nature Medicine, suggest that they were right.  The findings could have implications for people around the world with inoperable malignant mesothelioma. How the Immunotherapy Drug Durvalumab Helps Fight Mesothelioma Durvalumab is one of several immune checkpoint inhibitors showing promise for mesothelioma in recent years. Keytruda (pembrolizumab)…

Researchers Discover How Three Enzymes Influence Mesothelioma Risk
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Researchers Discover How Three Enzymes Influence Mesothelioma Risk

ByAlex Strauss

University of Hawaii scientists have just released new research that helps explain how three enzymes may work together to determine mesothelioma risk. Most people who contract malignant mesothelioma have a history of asbestos exposure. But scientists still are not sure exactly why some people are at higher risk than others.  Researcher Michele Carbone and his team at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center have spent years trying to understand the underlying mechanism of mesothelioma risk. Their new report is a big step forward. It shows how three molecules interact to determine a person’s risk profile. It also demonstrates how something as simple as aspirin might be used to modify that risk.  Three Molecules That Influence Mesothelioma Risk BAP1 is a…

Could Lipids Hold the Key to Improving the Mesothelioma Diagnostic Process?
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Could Lipids Hold the Key to Improving the Mesothelioma Diagnostic Process?

ByAlex Strauss

A new Chinese report suggests that molecules called lipids could hold the key to improving the mesothelioma diagnostic process. Mesothelioma is rare and hard to treat. It is critical to diagnose it accurately and as early as possible for the best outcomes. But the mesothelioma diagnostic process can be complex and difficult.  The Chinese researchers compared the amounts and types of lipids in the blood of mesothelioma patients to those in the blood of healthy people. They discovered five lipids that were higher in the mesothelioma patients and 29 that were lower.  The information could help doctors refine the mesothelioma diagnostic process. It could also help them determine how a patient is doing on a particular treatment.  Lipids and the…

Mesothelioma Blood Test Could Help Delay Time Between CT Scans
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Mesothelioma Blood Test Could Help Delay Time Between CT Scans

ByAlex Strauss

A mesothelioma blood test could make it possible to stretch the time between CT scans to monitor treatment progress. That is the conclusion from a team of cancer experts in Italy. The researchers compared the results of the SMRP mesothelioma blood test to CT scans and other prognostic indicators in pleural mesothelioma patients.  Doctors typically use a set of criteria called mRECIST to assess how well a particular therapy is working. mRECIST includes measurements from CT scans. But CT scans are expensive, time-consuming, and expose patients to ionizing radiation.  The goal of the new study was to see how closely SMRP levels correlated with mRECIST results. The team says the blood test appears to be accurate enough that it could…

Mesothelioma Surgical Decisions: New Method May Make Them Easier
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Mesothelioma Surgical Decisions: New Method May Make Them Easier

ByAlex Strauss

Cancer researchers in India and the UK have come up with a method for making better mesothelioma surgical decisions. The group focused on peritoneal mesothelioma, the second most common form of asbestos cancer. Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the membrane around the abdominal organs. It can spread throughout the abdomen.  Some peritoneal mesothelioma patients get good results with cytoreductive surgery. But success depends on a number of factors such as how far cancer has spread and where mesothelioma tumors are located. The new decision-making tool reminds doctors of five important factors to consider when making mesothelioma surgical decisions for the best outcomes. It is based on the acronym PAUSE. Peritoneal Mesothelioma and the Promise of CRS/HIPEC Malignant mesothelioma is an especially aggressive…

New Treatment for Malignant Mesothelioma Kills Cancer ‘From the Inside Out’
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New Treatment for Malignant Mesothelioma Kills Cancer ‘From the Inside Out’

ByAlex Strauss

The University of Vermont is about to start a first-in-human trial of a new kind of treatment for malignant mesothelioma.  The new approach involves a drug called RSO-021. The drug works differently from other cancer therapies. It blocks the ability of cancer cells to manage their own waste products. It’s developers say the new treatment for malignant mesothelioma aims to kill cancer cells from the inside out.  The concept for RSO-021 was first developed at the University of Vermont. Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the UK biotech company RS Oncology have tested the drug in mice with promising results.  Human trials of RSO-021 will start soon in the UK. US patients will be recruited in 2022. …