biomarker

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    Biomarker May Predict Chemotherapy Response in Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Cancer researchers in Japan say they may have found a way to help predict which mesothelioma patients are most likely to respond well to treatment with Alimta. Alimta (pemetrexed) was FDA approved in 2004 for the treatment of mesothelioma, a virulent form of lung cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Alimta is often administered along with the platinum-based drug cisplatin, although this first-line mesothelioma treatment combination has been shown to have only limited success. Part of the problem is that it is difficult to predict which mesothelioma patients will respond to which types of therapies. Mesothelioma treatment, therefore, often involves a process of trial and error to find the therapy that works best. Unfortunately, this approach can cost patients valuable time…

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    Mesothelioma Blood Test May Save Lives through Earlier Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is new evidence that a blood test for a biomarker called N-ERC/mesothelin could help identify mesothelioma earlier and improve outcomes in people at risk for the disease. Cancer researchers with Juntendo University in Tokyo released a study in 2008 suggesting that N-ERC/mesothelin, a soluble protein released by certain kinds of cancer cells, was “a very promising tumor marker for mesothelioma, especially epithelioid mesothelioma”. In their newest study, the same group attempted to test the value of the biomarker as a warning tool for closer monitoring in populations at high mesothelioma risk. The new study included construction workers who were part of a large-scale, 5-year screening of people known to be exposed to asbestos, the primary cause of mesothelioma. The…

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    Sharp Rise in Mesothelin May Signal Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Another study has confirmed that the biomarker mesothelin may be a valuable warning sign ofmesothelioma in asbestos-exposed workers. In fact, it may rise sharply in the months preceding the onset of symptoms. Medical researchers have long known that exposure to the mineral asbestos dramatically increases the risk of developing malignant pleural mesothelioma. But doctors have struggled to find a way to identify which asbestos-exposed people are at highest risk. It is a significant problem because, as the authors of a new German study on the subject observe, “In patients developing malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) or lung cancer, using effective tumour markers is the quickest way to ensure early diagnosis and improve survival time.” But which biomarkers to focus on and how…

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    Biomarker Test Next Step for New Mesothelioma Drug

    ByAlex Strauss

    A company that makes stem cell-focused treatments for cancer has taken an important step closer to testing a promising new mesothelioma drug. The biopharmaceutical company Verastem, Inc. specializes in agents that destroy cancer by killing cancer stem cells. One of its lead medicines is VS-6063, a focal adhesion kinase inhibitor scheduled to be the subject of a mesothelioma study later this year. In a Phase I safety study of 36 patients conducted by Pfizer (original developers of VS-6063), the drug was “well-tolerated” and showed enough efficacy to warrant further, larger studies. A focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor is an agent that regulates the growth and spread of tumor cells by inhibited a crucial signaling pathway. In preclinical cancer models, when this…

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    Mesothelioma Diagnosis: SMRP Not the Answer

    ByAlex Strauss

    Soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP), a protein found in the blood serum of some people, may not be as effective a biomarker for mesothelioma as it was once thought to be. Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer of the internal membranes that surround the lungs, abdominal organs or heart. It is most often triggered by exposure to asbestos and is difficult to diagnose in its early stages. Biomarkers, like SMRP, are often used to try to make cancer diagnoses earlier since these compounds are often produced in larger quantities by cancer cells than by healthy cells. But in a report in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, a team of researchers suggests that SMRP has some significant limitations when it comes to detecting mesothelioma. The…

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    Australian Study Reveals New Mesothelioma Biomarker

    ByAlex Strauss

    A large multi-center Australian study has revealed what researchers say could be an important new biomarker for malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a virulent cancer of internal body membranes usually caused by exposure to asbestos. As with other cancers, mesothelioma cells produce certain compounds at higher levels than healthy cells do. Micro RNAs, or miRNAs, are short chains of ribonucleic acid, some of which are produced in abundance by cancer cells. Using miRNA microarrays, the Australian researchers profiled plasma samples from patients with malignant mesothelioma and from healthy controls. After reviewing 90 miRNAs previously associated with mesothelioma, they found two – miR-29c and miR-92a – in particularly high amounts. Further testing found a total of 15 novel miRNAs in the plasma of…

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    New Blood Test May Help Diagnose Mesothelioma Earlier

    ByAlex Strauss

    Investigators in California are evaluating new technology that could eventually help diagnose mesothelioma with a simple blood test. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.  It strikes about 2,500 people in the U.S. each year.  But its rarity – and its tendency to mimic other lung-related diseases – can make mesothelioma hard to diagnose.  In recent years, some mesothelioma centers have begun evaluating the DNA composition of suspected mesothelioma cells using a test called a DNA array. Now, a group of researchers in California reports that a different type of evaluation – one that looks for abnormal sugars (glycans) in blood serum – may offer another diagnostic option for mesothelioma.  Anti-glycan antibodies are produced by the immune system…

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    New Mesothelioma Biomarker May Also Improve Treatment

    ByAlex Strauss

    A study conducted by a group of San Francisco researchers suggests that a new biomarker may help make chemotherapy drugs more effective for mesothelioma patients. A biomarker is a substance present in tumor cells that can help doctors identify cancer.  Biomarkers are especially important in mesothelioma, a virulent cancer of the mesothelium, because it can be so difficult to diagnose.  Now, medical researchers at the University of California who have been studying melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) have found it to be an even more precise biomarker than mesothelin, the most common biomarker used to diagnose mesothelioma. MCAM is already being used to help identify other types of cancer including ovarian cancer and certain skin cancers. Unlike mesothelin, which is present in…