New Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Will Test Personalized Immunotherapy
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New Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Will Test Personalized Immunotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

A Dutch company has recruited the first patients into a pivotal mesothelioma clinical trial of autologous dendritic cells. Dendritic cells are immune system cells that work as messengers. They help tell T cells to attack cancers like malignant mesothelioma. The new mesothelioma clinical trial will test using the patient’s own dendritic cells (autologous cells) as a way to keep cancer from coming back after mesothelioma treatment. Expanding Mesothelioma Treatment Options There is only one approved treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma. This “standard of care” treatment is chemotherapy with Alimta (pemetrexed) and cisplatin. Although most mesothelioma patients receive this treatment, very few live longer than a year after diagnosis. A Netherlands-based company called Amphera is trying to change those odds. Its…

PARP Inhibitors Could Enhance Immunotherapy Response in Mesothelioma
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PARP Inhibitors Could Enhance Immunotherapy Response in Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A new study suggests that drugs known as PARP inhibitors may enhance immunotherapy response in mesothelioma patients. According to a report published in the Journal of Clinical Investigations, PARP inhibitors worked especially well in cancers with mutations in their DNA repair genes. Some malignant mesothelioma patients have mutated DNA repair genes. In these patients, a PARP inhibitor may modify immunotherapy response, making drugs like Keytruda work better. How PARP Impacts Immunotherapy Response PARP stands for poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. It represents a family of proteins involved in a number of cellular processes, including DNA repair. PARP is also involved in apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Olaparib (Lynparza) is an example of a PARP inhibitor. PARP inhibitors attack tumors that already have…

Predicting Thyroid Disease After Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma
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Predicting Thyroid Disease After Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in Italy say it is possible to predict which mesothelioma patients are likely to develop thyroid disease after immunotherapy. They are advising their colleagues to use the technique for better management of malignant mesothelioma. Immune checkpoint inhibitors like Keytruda are improving the outlook for people with asbestos cancer. But immunotherapy is not without risk. Certain people are prone to develop thyroid disease after immunotherapy. If doctors know ahead of time which mesothelioma patients are at risk, they can be better prepared to manage problems later.   Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Thyroid Disease after Immunotherapy Pleural mesothelioma is extremely difficult to treat. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have given many mesothelioma patients new hope. Recent studies suggest that some of these drugs…

Mesothelioma Research Demonstrates Power of Intrapleural Immunotherapy
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Mesothelioma Research Demonstrates Power of Intrapleural Immunotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

New metadata suggests that intrapleural immunotherapy is a powerful, targeted way to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma.   Pleural mesothelioma is a deadly cancer of the lining around the lungs. It is caused by asbestos exposure and is notoriously difficult to treat. Now, a new study suggests that delivering immunotherapy treatments directly into the pleural space where mesothelioma tumors form may help these drugs work even better. What is Intrapleural Immunotherapy? Immunotherapy treatments harness the immune system to help fight cancer. Immunotherapy works alone or in combination with other treatments like chemotherapy or surgery. Many researchers and doctors believe that immunotherapy is the future of mesothelioma treatment. Intrapleural immunotherapy is a more targeted way to deliver these cancer-fighting messengers. It does…

New Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Treatment Reduces Tregs with Immunotoxin
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New Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Treatment Reduces Tregs with Immunotoxin

ByAlex Strauss

There is a new mesothelioma immunotherapy treatment in the works. This one is based on reducing the number of Tregs or regulatory T-cells around a mesothelioma tumor. Tregs are an important part of maintaining balance in the immune system. They help protect people against autoimmune diseases like MS and lupus. But in people with malignant mesothelioma and other types of cancer, too many Tregs can be a problem. Tregs respond to distress signals sent out by a tumor. They surround the tumor and protect it against attack from the immune system. The goal of mesothelioma immunotherapy treatment is to reactivate the immune system to fight the cancer. Developing a Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Treatment Molecular biologists at the National Cancer Institute and…

Avelumab May Offer a Second-Line Option for Recurrent Mesothelioma
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Avelumab May Offer a Second-Line Option for Recurrent Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

People with recurrent mesothelioma may get another chance at treatment with the immunotherapy drug avelumab. Malignant mesothelioma is highly resistant to standard cancer therapies. That means that the asbestos cancer usually comes back, or recurs, even after treatment. The most common treatment for mesothelioma is chemotherapy with Alimta. Alimta is the only drug approved specifically for mesothelioma. Patients with recurrent mesothelioma often have several rounds of chemotherapy with Alimta. But once the standard mesothelioma treatments stop working, patients do not have many options. Now a new study suggests that some cases of recurrent mesothelioma that stop responding to Alimta may respond to avelumab.   Considering Avelumab for Recurrent Mesothelioma Bavencio is the brand name for avelumab. It is a type…

Virotherapy for Mesothelioma Can Be More Effective
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Virotherapy for Mesothelioma Can Be More Effective

ByAlex Strauss

Hong Kong researchers may have found a way to get around one of the biggest challenges of virotherapy for mesothelioma. Virotherapy uses a modified virus to deliver medicine or genetic information into the body. Modified viruses are useful because they can be “programmed” to seek out cancer cells. But modified viruses do not always behave the way scientists hope they will. One problem with some virotherapy for mesothelioma is that it can block the natural immune response. The body naturally fights malignant mesothelioma by releasing white blood cells called CTLs (T lymphocytes). But MVTT virotherapy can prevent the release of CTLs, even while it attacks the tumor. “Although MVTT [a type of virotherapy] leads to regression of established mesothelioma dose-dependently,…

Survival After Mesothelioma Surgery Could Rise with Immunotherapy Spray
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Survival After Mesothelioma Surgery Could Rise with Immunotherapy Spray

ByAlex Strauss

A spray-on immune booster may one day improve survival after mesothelioma surgery. UCLA scientists tested the biodegradable spray gel in mice with advanced melanoma. They found that it stopped cancer recurrence after surgery in about half of the lab animals tested. “Around 90 percent of people with cancerous tumors end up dying because of tumor recurrence or metastasis,” says lead investigator Zhen Gu. “Being able to develop something that helps lower this risk for this to occur and has low toxicity is especially gratifying.” Gu is a professor of bioengineering and a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center where the spray was developed. Survival After Mesothelioma Surgery Survival after mesothelioma surgery or any other kind of cancer operation…

Immunotherapy for Peritoneal Mesothelioma: New Drug Trial Begin
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Immunotherapy for Peritoneal Mesothelioma: New Drug Trial Begin

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in Maryland and Missouri have started human testing of a new type of immunotherapy for peritoneal mesothelioma. If the human trial of this new CAR T-cell therapy goes as well as the laboratory tests, this could be good news for many people with asbestos cancer. CAR stands for chimeric antigen receptor. CAR T-cell therapy works by “reprogramming” a patient’s immune system to fight cancer cells. Tests show this therapy can work well for blood-based cancers like leukemia. But the results have not been as good for solid tumors like peritoneal mesothelioma. MaxCyte is the American company than makes the new drug. They are hoping that their approach to immunotherapy for peritoneal mesothelioma will be better. Preparing CAR T-cell Therapy…

Radiation May Help Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Treatment Work Better
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Radiation May Help Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Treatment Work Better

ByAlex Strauss

Hypofractionated radiation for mesothelioma could change how doctors treat this rare cancer.  Researchers in Toronto, Canada have been testing hypofractionated radiation in mesothelioma surgery patients. They have used it to shrink tumors before lung-removing EPP surgery. Hypofractionated radiation is faster than than standard radiation. It may also cause fewer side effects. Now, doctors want to know what else this type of radiation might be good for. They plan to test how well hypofractionated radiation works with less radical mesothelioma surgery. There is also evidence that hypofractionated radiation may strengthen mesothelioma immunotherapy treatment. Radiation Before Mesothelioma Surgery Doctors at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto ran a clinical trial called SMART. SMART stands for Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy….