Mesothelioma Study Could Improve Immunotherapy
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Mesothelioma Study Could Improve Immunotherapy

Scientists have made an important discovery about a component of the immune system that could have an impact on mesothelioma, one of the rarest and most aggressive cancers. Although mesothelioma is rare, it claims about 2,500 lives in the U.S. annually. Scientists around the globe are searching for a method to keep this cancer from spreading across the membranes that surround the lungs or line the abdomen. As mesothelioma tumors on these membranes grow larger, the likelihood that the cancer will spread to the lungs or other internal organs increases. The immune system is designed to help stop the spread of invaders or out-of-control cancer cells. One immune cell, the Natural Killer or NK cell, is known to exert an anti-tumor effect…

Mesothelioma ‘Triple Treatment’ May Jump Start Killer Cells
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Mesothelioma ‘Triple Treatment’ May Jump Start Killer Cells

New mesothelioma research from Harvard University suggests that if one type of immunotherapy is effective against mesothelioma, three types might be even more effective. Immunotherapy involves manipulating the immune system to fight disease. Some types of cancer, including mesothelioma, take hold in the body in part by ‘shutting down’ the natural immunotoxins, or cell killers, that would normally attack them. Now, scientists are working with a number of molecules designed to jump start the immune system and help it recognize, target, and even ‘remember’ invading mesothelioma cancer cells. Using a mouse model of mesothelioma, the Harvard researchers investigated the roles of three factors effecting immunity: regulatory T-cells, intratumoural transforming growth factor (TGF)-â and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA4). The researchers…

Common Cold Virus – Uncommon Mesothelioma Treatment
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Common Cold Virus – Uncommon Mesothelioma Treatment

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are fighting malignant mesothelioma with an unexpected tool – the cold virus. The approach fits into a category of treatment known as immunotherapy, which aims to harness the body’s own immune system to find and attack cancer cells. In the current study, Penn Medicine mesothelioma researchers, led by Steven Albelda, MD, and Daniel Sterman, MD, of the Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Division, injected mesothelioma patients with a modified form of the adenovirus – a virus normally associated with the common cold. The virus had been altered to express high levels of an immune system stimulant called Interferon-a, a protein that can boost the body’s ability to fight off viral infection. Nine mesothelioma patients…

Immune System May Help Fight Mesothelioma
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Immune System May Help Fight Mesothelioma

Proteins and toxins produced by the body’s own immune system could prove to be powerful weapons in the fight against malignant mesothelioma. Manipulating the immune system to fight cancer is known as immunotherapy. One type of immunotherapy is utilizing natural immunotoxins, or cell killers, produced by the white blood cells to attack tumors. Preliminary data shows that a protein produced by these cells called interleukin-4 or IL-4, may have potent cancer-fighting properties. Researchers with the Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute in California are planning studies to test the toxin’s value as a way to combat mesothelioma. Their first challenge will be to produce enough IL-4 to conduct tests. When enough of the immunotoxin can be synthesized according to FDA…

Future Mesothelioma Treatment
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Future Mesothelioma Treatment

A combination of immunotherapy and traditional  may be more effective than either treatment alone against mesothelioma, according to a recent analysis published in the journal, Tissue Antigens. Mesothelioma is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, and the prognosis is often poor. Surgery and chemotherapy are the standard mesothelioma treatments, but even with these therapies many patients do not live more than a year after their diagnosis. A newer treatment option is immunotherapy, which enhances the immune system response to help the body attack cancer cells. Because mesothelioma engages the immune system, immunotherapy would appear to be a promising treatment strategy for this cancer. However, studies conducted so far on immunotherapy for mesothelioma have yielded disappointing results. Combining immunotherapy…

Mesothelioma and the Immune System
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Mesothelioma and the Immune System

The presence of an immune cell is associated with better prognosis for patients undergoing extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma is the conclusion of a recent article published in the Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery.1 Canadian researchers tested mesothelioma samples removed from 32 patients (28 men and 4 women). The patients ranged in age from 21 to 74 (median age was 59). The researchers were looking for the numbers of specific types of immune cells. They then compared this data to the survival of the patients to see if these cell counts had any relationship with survival. They found that one specific type of immune cell called CD8+ was associated with better prognosis. The study found that higher levels of…