A Bright Future for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Mesothelioma Treatment
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A Bright Future for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Mesothelioma Treatment

ByHolly Zink

A new report shows that immune checkpoint inhibitors can be a practical and rational therapeutic approach to treating mesothelioma patients. The use of ICIs to treat human tumors has quickly become part of clinical practice. Immune checkpoint inhibitors block mesothelioma’s natural resistance to immune system attack. They are among the most promising approaches to combating this intractable cancer. Researchers from the Cellular and Molecular Research Center report the use of ICIs in tumor immunotherapy. What is Tumor Immunotherapy? Malignant mesothelioma is a frustrating disease for patients and doctors. Conventional cancer treatments often do not work. If cancer recurs, doctors can try other approved treatments, even if they are not part of the official treatment guidelines. Immunotherapy is also referred to…

Adoptive Cell Therapy and Interventional Oncology in Mesothelioma
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Adoptive Cell Therapy and Interventional Oncology in Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

New data suggests that adoptive cell therapy 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 cell therapy may help mesothelioma drug treatments work even better. What is Adoptive Cell Therapy? Adoptive cell therapy is a form of 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. This therapy is a more targeted way to deliver these cancer-fighting drugs. It does…

First-Line Chemotherapy versus Immunotherapy versus Maintenance Therapy
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First-Line Chemotherapy versus Immunotherapy versus Maintenance Therapy

ByHolly Zink

A recent study compared mesothelioma patients’ survival by physician’s choice of treatment. Is first-line chemotherapy the best choice? Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that affects older adults. Mesothelioma patients often have other comorbidities making real-world treatment decisions challenging. The first was by choice of first-line chemotherapy. The second was the physician’s choice of second-line chemotherapy versus immunotherapy. And the third was by the physician’s choice of use of maintenance therapy. Physician’s Choice of First-Line Chemotherapy Drugs This is the largest real-world study of U.S. patients diagnosed with mesothelioma. Scientists analyzed physicians’ choice of first-line chemotherapy, second-line therapy, and maintenance therapy. In the first-line chemotherapy analysis, there was no significant difference in patient survival. As of this writing, the only…

Treatment Options Improving in the ‘New Era’ for Mesothelioma
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Treatment Options Improving in the ‘New Era’ for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Calling it a “new era” for malignant pleural mesothelioma, doctors from four of the nation’s top cancer centers have just published an update on treatment options for this rare disease.  The article was prepared by mesothelioma experts at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, NYU Langone Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.  The article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology highlights the recent FDA approvals of a new medical device and a new immunotherapy combination for pleural mesothelioma. The authors say these and other advances are “generating momentum” to find better mesothelioma therapies.  Tumor Treating Fields Changing the Game Pleural mesothelioma is fast-growing and difficult to treat. Mesothelioma rarely responds…

Hope for Mesothelioma? Parasite Triggers Tumor Regression in the Lab
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Hope for Mesothelioma? Parasite Triggers Tumor Regression in the Lab

ByAlex Strauss

A parasite found in cat feces triggered tumor regression in recent animal studies in China. It is a hopeful sign that the same process might be adapted to help human mesothelioma patients, too.   The parasite is toxoplasma gondii. It is a single-celled parasite that can only replicate inside live host cells. It is typically found in the feces of cats or in soil or water contaminated by their feces.  It is capable of entering most cells in most warm-blooded animals.  The goal of the new Chinese study was to determine whether toxoplasma gondii could modulate immune response in tumors. If it can, it might help immunotherapy drugs cause tumor regression in people with mesothelioma and other hard-to-treat cancers.  How Mesothelioma…

Celiac Disease May Be a Little-Known Complication of Mesothelioma Immunotherapy
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Celiac Disease May Be a Little-Known Complication of Mesothelioma Immunotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

A new French case report shines a spotlight on a little-known potential complication of mesothelioma immunotherapy: celiac disease.  Celiac disease is a chronic digestive and immune disorder brought on by sensitivity to gluten. Over time, celiac disease damages the small intestine causing long-lasting digestive problems. It can prevent patients from getting the nutrients they need to stay healthy.  The new case report appears in Frontiers in Immunology. It details the case of a 70-year-old man who developed celiac disease after treatment with nivolumab. The case suggests that celiac disease may be an underrecognized side effect of mesothelioma immunotherapy. It is a reminder for mesothelioma patients and doctors to pay close attention to digestive problems after treatment.  Stimulating the Immune System…

“Remodeling” Mesothelioma Cells May Improve Responsiveness to Immunotherapy
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“Remodeling” Mesothelioma Cells May Improve Responsiveness to Immunotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

Italian researchers are experimenting with the idea of remodeling mesothelioma cells from the inside out to improve their responsiveness to immunotherapy. Malignant mesothelioma is highly resistant to standard cancer treatments. Immunotherapy is widely considered to be one of the most hopeful new approaches to this cancer. But this approach works better for some people than it does for others.  The difference may lie in the genes. Scientists at University Hospital of Siena believe that manipulating the gene expression of mesothelioma cells could be the key to bolstering responsiveness to immunotherapy.  Mesothelioma, Genetics, and Responsiveness to Immunotherapy Immunotherapy is a method of treating disease by using the body’s natural immune response. This can mean trying to attract more immune cells to…

Expert Says Malignant Mesothelioma Research ‘Turned a Corner’ in 2021
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Expert Says Malignant Mesothelioma Research ‘Turned a Corner’ in 2021

ByAlex Strauss

An internationally-known mesothelioma specialist says 2021 has been one of the best years yet for malignant mesothelioma research, giving patients and their families more reason than ever to be hopeful.  Hedy Lee Kindler, MD, is Director of the University of Chicago Medical Center’s Mesothelioma Program. In a commentary in JCO Oncology Practice, Dr. Kindler says the outlook for mesothelioma sufferers this year is “far brighter than it has been for a very long time.” Dr. Kindler points to several recent advances in malignant mesothelioma research and treatment as reasons for optimism. The FDA approved the second systemic therapy for mesothelioma in late 2020. This year saw five positive mesothelioma clinical trials.  Kindler says these advances suggest that the future may…

Chemotherapy Still Good First-Line Option for Unresectable Epithelioid Mesothelioma
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Chemotherapy Still Good First-Line Option for Unresectable Epithelioid Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A top mesothelioma expert says chemotherapy may still be the best first-line treatment for unresectable epithelioid mesothelioma, even though immunotherapy is an increasingly popular option. Chemotherapy has been the primary way to treat mesothelioma since 2004. This is when the FDA approved the drug Alimta (pemetrexed). Alimta remained the only systemic treatment for asbestos cancer until 2020. In 2020, the FDA approved a combination of the immunotherapy drugs ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo). But Dean Fennell, PhD, of the UK’s University of Leicester says chemotherapy is still a good choice for many unresectable epithelioid mesothelioma cases. A Better Version of Chemotherapy? Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common subtype. It is also the most responsive to treatment. For the healthiest patients,…

New CAR-T Cell Therapy for Mesothelioma Circumvents Immune Suppression
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New CAR-T Cell Therapy for Mesothelioma Circumvents Immune Suppression

ByAlex Strauss

A new cancer treatment based on CAR-T cell therapy may have found a way to undermine a key protective mechanism in mesothelioma tumors. The treatment is called UCARTMESO. It is being developed by a French biopharmaceutical company called Cellectis. UCARTMESO targets cells that overexpress the protein mesothelin. It undermines some key genes in these cells preventing them from sending immune suppressive signals.  Immune suppressive elements in the area surrounding mesothelioma tumors have historically kept CAR-T cell therapy from working as well as it does for some other types of cancer.  But the developers of UCARTMESO say their approach may finally make CAR-T cell therapy a viable option for patients fighting asbestos cancer.  They presented their findings at the Society for…