| |

How Immunotherapy Transformed a Mesothelioma Patient’s Life

ByHolly Zink
How Immunotherapy Transformed a Mesothelioma Patient's Life

An elderly man went to the hospital for treatment for two different types of cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and mesothelioma. His treatment with immunotherapy was successful and improved his outlook.

Unraveling the Complexity of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that grows in the lining of organs in the body. In this case, the patient had mesothelioma in his abdomen. This cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos.

When a person has mesothelioma in their abdomen, the tumors can grow and spread to cover a large area. It can be difficult to diagnose because of its vague symptoms, like abdominal pain, bloating, and weight loss.

And it is even harder to treat because it is often diagnosed at a more advanced stage. Surgery is usually the first treatment option considered by doctors. But in many cases of mesothelioma in the abdomen, the cancer may be inoperable because of how much it has spread.

In cases where surgery is not an option, doctors will use a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy to manage the disease and improve the person’s quality of life.

The Inspiring Journey of an Elderly Man’s Triumph Over Mesothelioma

In this case, the treatment approach was complicated by the fact that the patient had a second type of cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This is a type of cancer that grows in the upper part of the throat.

The patient also suffered from what are called “paraneoplastic syndromes”. These are a rare group of disorders caused by cancer cells that can affect many different parts of the body. For this patient, it caused him to have abnormal blood cell counts.

After confirming his mesothelioma diagnosis with biopsies, the patient’s doctors determined that surgery was not going to be possible. The cancer tumors had spread too much. Instead, the patient received the chemotherapy drug Pemetrexed with the immunotherapy drug Nivolumab. He also received radiation therapy.

As a result of this treatment plan, the elderly man experienced progression-free survival of 12 months and an overall survival of 23 months.

This case suggests that a comprehensive treatment plan that includes immunotherapy could help patients with other cancers in addition to mesothelioma.

Source

Tang LK, Li ZK, Xiang YL, Ma DY, Du GB. Metachronous double primary malignant tumors with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma accompanied with paraneoplastic syndromes treated with nivolumab: A case report. Medicine (Baltimore). 2023;102(30):e34349. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000034349. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37505161/

Similar Posts

  • | |

    Doctors Describe "Concrete Therapeutic Approach" for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A team of medical researchers in Italy have achieved what they are calling “excellent” tumor control and survival results in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma typically spreads quickly across the lung-encasing membrane called the pleura. There is no known cure but treatments are improving. In the current prospective study, 20 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients underwent radical pleurectomy/decortication followed by high doses of radiation. After surgeons removed as much of the visible mesothelioma tumor and surrounding tissue as possible, patients received 50Gy of radiation to the effected side of their chest, delivered in 25 fractions. Regions of particular concern for mesothelioma regrowth got an extra radiation “boost” to…

  • | |

    Does Radiotherapy Reduce Mesothelioma Pain?

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new study says there is not enough evidence to support the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of pain associated with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland reviewed a range of past studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy by searching databases that date back as far as 1974. To be eligible to be included in their review, the study had to focus on malignant pleural mesothelioma and radiotherapy given “with the intent of improving pain”. The study also had to report doses and fractionation of the radiotherapy and how the pain responded. In all, the researchers found eight studies on mesothelioma pain and radiotherapy that met the criteria. Two of the studies were prospective…

  • |

    Website Aims to Protect Homeowners from Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Australia’s Cancer Council is trying to educate home renovators about their risk for mesothelioma with a new e-learning course. Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of mesothelioma in the world, largely because of several asbestos mining operations that were once located there. Although asbestos has been banned from building products in Australia since 1989, asbestos-linked diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis continue to pose a serious health concern. While mesothelioma has traditionally occurred among people exposed to asbestos on the job, Australia is now bracing for another “wave” of mesothelioma victims among homeowners who encounter asbestos while doing their own renovation projects. Cancer Council Australia has launched “kNOw asbestos in your home” in an effort to…

  • |

    Ape Virus Shrinks Mesothelioma Tumors in Lab

    ByAlex Strauss

    A virus that causes leukemia in gibbon apes may have the power to help fight malignant mesothelioma in people. Gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV) has been tested for years as a viral vector, a carrier of therapeutic genetic information, in the treatment of various human illnesses, including cancer. A new study in Japan compared GALV with a leukemia virus derived from mice to see which carrier communicated most efficiently with mesothelioma cells. While both types of viruses replicated in most of the mesothelioma cell lines tested, the mouse-derived virus was not effective in a mesothelioma cell line called ACC-MESO-1. In this cell line, only the GALV spread efficiently both in culture and in mice that had been given human mesothelioma…

  • | |

    Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma: Better But Still Limited

    ByAlex Strauss

    A form of highly-targeted radiation therapy for mesothelioma is better than it used to be, but is still risky. That is the message of a recent article on intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Author Kenneth E. Rosenzweig, MD, a Radiation Oncologist with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, reviewed recent studies on IMRT and mesothelioma. He concludes that, while the “troubling toxicity” associated with IMRT when it was first introduced has not been entirely eliminated, the fact that clinicians now have more experience with it is making a positive difference for mesothelioma patients. Before targeted therapies like IMRT were available, high-dose radiation was not usually a feasible option for mesothelioma since the irregular shape…

  • | | |

    Mesothelioma Nurses Ready for New Cases in Australia

    ByAlex Strauss

    Australia is bracing for an expected new wave of mesothelioma cases in the next decade and the Lung Foundation of Australia is taking action now to get ready. The Foundation has paid for ten nurses from around the country to receive specialized training in helping patients and families cope with mesothelioma. The nurses, who have recently completed the training, are now equipped to lead treatment planning for these complex cancer patients and to help other nurses do the same. Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that occurs in the lining around the lungs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos dust, a toxin that was once alarmingly prevalent in Australia where it was mined and heavily used in construction. Because…