Promising Early Results from Mesothelioma Vaccine Trial
| | | | | | | |

Promising Early Results from Mesothelioma Vaccine Trial

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers studying a new immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma have released early findings from an ongoing clinical trial and the results are promising. CRS-207 is based on a genetically modified version of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium normally associated with the food borne illness, Listeriosis. The drug was designed to induce a powerful immune response against cells that produce mesothelin, which includes mesothelioma and several other kinds of cancer. In a presentation at the 40th European Society for Medical Oncology in September, lead investigator Raffit Hassan, MD, of the National Cancer Institute said CRS-207 appears to be improving the odds of surviving mesothelioma in inoperable patients. “The data in this trial continue to be impressive in the front-line treatment of mesothelioma,” said…

Long Term Mesothelioma Survival with Immune System Activation
| | | | | | | | |

Long Term Mesothelioma Survival with Immune System Activation

ByAlex Strauss

A small group of Australian mesothelioma patients have reportedly lived more than twice as long as expected with a combination of standard chemotherapy and immune system manipulation with the CD40 protein. The CD40 protein plays a role in a broad range of immune and inflammatory responses in the body. Studies in mice have found that activating CD40 with an activating antibody may work “synergistically” with chemotherapy drugs to fight cancer. To see whether CD40 activation could produce a similar response in human patients, researchers with the University of Western Australia and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth recruited 15 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients in the early stages of the disease. The patients all received both standard chemotherapy (pemetrexed and cisplatin)…

Emerging Therapies Target Mesothelioma in New Ways
| | | | | | | |

Emerging Therapies Target Mesothelioma in New Ways

ByAlex Strauss

Targeted therapies may be the future of mesothelioma treatment. That word comes from a team of some of the world’s top mesothelioma researchers at the University of Hawaii and New York University. The group has just published a review detailing what is known about how mesothelioma develops – also called “pathogenesis” – and how that growing knowledge may help scientists develop more effective treatments. “Novel treatments are needed, as current treatment modalities may improve the quality of life, but have shown modest effects in improving overall survival,” writes Dr. Michele Carbone, corresponding author on the review and a top name in mesothelioma research. Dr. Harvey Pass, chief of the division of thoracic surgery at New York University’s Langone Medical Center…

British Group Highlights Top Ten Mesothelioma Research Priorities
| | | | | | | | |

British Group Highlights Top Ten Mesothelioma Research Priorities

ByAlex Strauss

The potential value of immunotherapy, individualized chemotherapy, second-line treatments, and strategies for patient monitoring are among the top ten priorities for mesothelioma research according to British patients, caregivers, and clinicians. The James Lind Alliance specializes in setting priorities for health policy. The group was asked to work with the British National Institute for Health Research to study mesothelioma in the wake of sweeping mesothelioma compensation legislation in 2013. The Priority Setting Partnership brought together mesothelioma patients, caregivers, clinicians and support organizations to develop a research priority list, which was published in the latest issue of Lung Cancer. In all, 453 of the initial mesothelioma surveys were returned and refined into 52 unanswered research questions. Another 202 responders helped reduce that…

Immunotherapy for Advanced Mesothelioma: Surgery May Be the Key
| | | | |

Immunotherapy for Advanced Mesothelioma: Surgery May Be the Key

ByAlex Strauss

An exciting new research development may help make immunotherapy vaccines effective for more mesothelioma patients, including those with advanced disease who have not been able to benefit from these treatments. Immunotherapy works by harnessing the power of the body’s own immune system and directing it to attack cancer cells. Unfortunately, as mesothelioma tumors grow, they release increasing amounts of an immune system suppressor designed to ward off an attack. The bigger the tumor, the more powerful the immune suppression and the less effective immunotherapy drugs are likely to be. At the same time, larger mesothelioma tumors may also produce less mesothelin, a protein that can be used to help immunotherapy vaccines target cancer cells. With less mesothelin and strong immunosuppression,…

New Immune Therapies May Offer Best Hope for Mesothelioma
| | | | |

New Immune Therapies May Offer Best Hope for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Immunotherapies, cancer drugs designed to alter the immune system, are emerging as one of the most hopeful methods of treating and perhaps even curing malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an almost universally fatal cancer of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the abdomen. Conventional cancer therapies, including the chemotherapy regimen that has become the standard-of-care for mesothelioma, have done little to improve survival. Even after decades of research and the development of multi-modal treatments, most mesothelioma patients still die of the disease within a year of diagnosis. But now, the outlook for this deadly cancer may finally be changing thanks to the emerging field of immunotherapy. Immunomodulators target the body’s own anti-tumor responses, effectively “turning them on” by blocking the processes (usually…

Immunotherapy Drug: More May be Better for Advanced Mesothelioma
| | | | | | | | |

Immunotherapy Drug: More May be Better for Advanced Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

The same team of Italian researchers that first reported on the safety and efficacy of the immunotherapy drug tremelimumab for mesothelioma now say that giving more of the drug might be even more effective. Tremelimumab is a monoclonal antibody that acts on a particular downregulator of the immune system called cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4). The goal of tremelimumab is to inhibit the immune system tolerance to tumors, which tends to allow them to grow unchecked. When CTLA4 is reactivated with a drug like tremelimumab, it regains its ability to attack tumors. Based on the results of their 2013 study that showed a 31% rate of disease control in patients with unresectable mesothelioma who were given tremelimumab, the team tested…

Immunotherapy “Cocktail” Destroys Mesothelioma Tumors in Lab Mice
| | | | | | |

Immunotherapy “Cocktail” Destroys Mesothelioma Tumors in Lab Mice

ByAlex Strauss

There is some exciting news on the mesothelioma research front from The University of Western Australia. Researchers there have successfully cured mesothelioma in mice using immunotherapy. Australia’s long history with asbestos has given it the distinction of having one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world. It is also the location of some of the most cutting-edge mesothelioma research. The latest study, conducted by the School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UWA and published in the Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research, suggests that a “cocktail” of drugs to simulate the immune system can eradicate mesothelioma tumors.  The researchers used a timed triple immunotherapy (TTI) protocol of three antibodies designed to “turn off” the production of specific proteins associated…

Mesothelioma Study Finds New Treatment Target
| |

Mesothelioma Study Finds New Treatment Target

ByAlex Strauss

Immunotherapy, which involves reprogramming T-cells to find and attack cancer cells, is one of the fastest-growing areas of cancer research. One of the biggest challenges of immunotherapy is how to harness the power of T-cells against cancer without also turning them against healthy cells. A new study conducted in Switzerland and published in the Journal of Translational Medicine addressed the problem by reprogramming T-cells to recognize and attack mesothelioma cells that express a specific protein. Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP) is expressed on the surface of tumor-associated fibroblast cells which are found in the connective tissue of mesothelioma tumors. FAP is also found in mesothelioma cells and may play a role in the start of cancer, as well as the growth…

Mesothelioma Study Could Improve Immunotherapy
| |

Mesothelioma Study Could Improve Immunotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

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…