Bortezomib Shows Promise as New Mesothelioma Treatment
A drug called Bortezomib can help treat malignant mesothelioma when given directly into the area affected by the cancer.
This interesting finding comes from a team of scientists from Italy. They tested Bortexomib on mesothelioma cells to find out if it can stop cancer cell growth.
New Research for New Treatments
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. It develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the body’s internal organs, like the lungs and abdominal cavity.
The treatment options for malignant mesothelioma are limited. Conventional treatments for mesothelioma consist of chemotherapy, surgery, and sometimes radiation therapy.
Even with treatment, the prognosis for mesothelioma is not good. The median survival rate of patients with mesothelioma ranges from one to five years, depending on the type of mesothelioma and the health of the patient.
The poor outlook for patients with mesothelioma has led scientists to research new treatments that could be more effective. That’s why the scientists in this study were exploring Bortexomib. It can help treat other types of cancer but doesn’t work well on mesothelioma.
However, the scientists guessed that Bortexomib could be effective at stopping the spread of mesothelioma if it was delivered directly to the cancer site.
Using Bortezomib for Mesothelioma
The scientists tested their idea by using Bortexomib on human mesothelioma cells grown in a lab. They found that it stopped the cells from growing and caused them to die. The drug also affected some of the cell pathways that help cancer cells survive.
When given to mice with mesothelioma, Bortexomib slowed down the growth of the cancer and made the mice live longer. The drug also activated the immune system to help fight the cancer.
The results of this study are encouraging and suggest that Bortexomib could be a useful treatment for mesothelioma. The scientists want to do more studies to find out if Bortexomib will work in human patients with mesothelioma.
Source
Benvenuto M, Angiolini V, Focaccetti C, et al. Antitumoral effects of Bortezomib in malignant mesothelioma: evidence of mild endoplasmic reticulum stress in vitro and activation of T cell response in vivo. Biol Direct. 2023;18(1):17. Published 2023 Apr 17. doi:10.1186/s13062-023-00374-w. https://biologydirect.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13062-023-00374-w