Blood Biomarkers Could Revolutionize Mesothelioma Treatment Monitoring
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Blood Biomarkers Could Revolutionize Mesothelioma Treatment Monitoring

ByHolly Zink

Researchers from Turkey think that biomarkers in the blood can help doctors find out if their mesothelioma patients are responding well to chemotherapy. This new study was published in the journal Cancer Biomarkers. Precision Medicine in Mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer that is caused by asbestos. It develops in the think layer of tissue that covers many of the body’s internal organs. Most cases of mesothelioma occur in the lungs or the abdomen. The standard treatment for mesothelioma includes a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The exact treatment plan is unique to each patient. Their doctor will consider the type of mesothelioma, how far it has spread, and the health of the patient. Chemotherapy is the…

Unusual Chemo Side Effects in One Mesothelioma Patient
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Unusual Chemo Side Effects in One Mesothelioma Patient

ByAlex Strauss

Swiss researches are reporting unusual side effects in one patient arising from mesothelioma treatment with the popular chemotherapy drug pemetrexed. One of the side effects is potentially life-threatening. Approved by the FDA in 2004 and sold under the brand name Alimta, pemetrexed was the first drug developed specifically for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Four years later, it was also approved for the treatment of lung cancer. Pemetrexed is a folate antimetabolite that inhibits certain key enzymes and prevents the formation of DNA and RNA critical for mesothelioma cells to function and replicate. It is most often combined with a platinum-based drug like cisplatin or carboplatin in the treatment of mesothelioma. In a report in the journal Lung Cancer, doctors from…