10 New Clinical Practice Guidelines on Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma
| |

10 New Clinical Practice Guidelines on Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) organized a multidisciplinary panel of experts to develop new clinical practice guidelines on the use of immunotherapy in mesothelioma treatment. Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment. It uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy has changed lung cancer care in recent years. It can help some patients survive longer. There is a new type of immune treatment called Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). ICI’s are used to treat patients with mesothelioma. The use of ICIs to treat mesothelioma tumors has quickly become part of clinical practice. Immune checkpoint inhibitors block mesothelioma’s natural resistance to immune system Challenges remain on how to identify patients who might benefit from ICIs. A panel of…

Clinical Trials Offer Options for Mesothelioma
| |

Clinical Trials Offer Options for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma is a devastating malignancy in the lining of the lungs and other internal organs. It affects about 2,500 Americans annually, most of them industrial workers who came in contact with the toxic mineral asbestos 20 to 50 years ago. Because the prognosis is generally poor for mesothelioma there are a number of clinical trials underway to find more effective treatments. Clinical trials are organized formal studies of a new drug or other treatment protocol in human patients. They can be an important source of hope and help for patients, especially those who may have few proven treatment options. But, in order for clinical trials to be effective, a certain number of mesothelioma patients must be willing to take the…

Over Forty Clinical Trials for Mesothelioma
| |

Over Forty Clinical Trials for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma is still a difficult cancer to treat. Today, there are at least 42 active clinical trials for mesothelioma, each trying to demonstrate a better treatment outcome than standard therapies. While there are still trials of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, today the emphasis is on newer therapies that can better target the tumor cells instead of indiscriminately harming cancer and healthy cells alike. These better targeted therapies go by different names depending on the type and include terms like: anti-cytokine, antiangiogenesis, enzyme inhibitor therapy, kinase inhibitor therapy, gene therapy, biological therapy, and immune therapy. As of March 2009 there were at least sixteen trials of these newer therapies plus eight combination regimes of a newer therapy and chemotherapy and another…