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New Hope for Treating Pleural Mesothelioma: Breakthrough Therapies on the Horizon

ByHolly Zink
New Hope for Treating Pleural Mesothelioma: Breakthrough Therapies on the Horizon

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare and tough cancer with a history of limited treatment options and a difficult prognosis. But recent years have brought good news for patients, as new treatments give hope to those facing this challenging condition.

A Positive Shift in Treatment

Since 2021, a big change has happened in how we treat pleural mesothelioma. Doctors now use immune checkpoint inhibitors as the first choice for treatment. These include nivolumab and ipilimumab. This is a big step forward for patients who once had few options for this tough cancer.

Combining chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors is a good next step. But researchers are also exploring other ways to treat pleural mesothelioma. They are learning more about how this cancer starts. This helps them develop treatments that target the disease more directly.

Scientists are testing new methods like viral therapy and antibody-drug combinations. And they are using special cells called CAR-T cells and dendritic cells to fight cancer. These new ideas have the potential to change the lives of patients, thanks to what we’ve learned from clinical trials.

What Experts Think

In the future, doctors plan to learn even more about pleural mesothelioma. They are going to do this by testing patients again after their disease gets worse. This helps them find new changes in the cancer’s makeup and understand how different treatments work. By understanding why some treatments stop working, doctors can come up with new and better ways to help patients.

What You Need to Know

Doctors now use a combination of two types of immune therapy, anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4, as the first treatment. This is giving new hope to pleural mesothelioma patients. New treatments like cancer virus therapy and CAR-T cell therapy have shown promise. They directly target pleural mesothelioma, where it’s found in the body.

Researchers are working on treatments that are customized for each patient. This might help make treatments more effective and precise. Doctors are also looking into using special medicines and combinations to fight pleural mesothelioma. Although more work is needed, it’s a hopeful idea.

The future of treating pleural mesothelioma may involve using a mix of these. It may use new treatments along with immune therapy to make them work better. Using special lab models will help find new treatments. And retesting patients will help us understand how to improve treatment even more.

In Conclusion

Pleural mesothelioma, once a very tough cancer to treat, is now getting better options. With the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors and ongoing research into new treatments, there’s a lot of hope for patients and their families. Each new discovery takes us a step closer to improving the lives of those dealing with this rare and challenging cancer. It’s a positive sign in the fight against pleural mesothelioma.

Source:

Assié, Jean-Baptiste, and Didier Jean. “Pleural Mesothelioma: A Snapshot of Emerging Drug Targets and Opportunities for Non-Surgical Therapeutic Advancement.” Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, October 30, 2023, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/14728222.2023.2277224.

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