CAR-T Cells + Keytruda: New Immunotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma?
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CAR-T Cells + Keytruda: New Immunotherapy for Pleural Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers at a top US cancer center are experimenting with a new approach to immunotherapy for pleural mesothelioma – with exciting results.  The research was done at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and published in a recent issue of Cancer Discovery.  The Phase I trial is the first to treat pleural mesothelioma patients with CAR-T cell therapy and the PD-1 blocker pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Although the trial was small, 83 percent of patients lived for more than a year. Some lived for nearly two.  Malignant Mesothelioma commonly claims the lives of patients within months. This new type of immunotherapy for pleural mesothelioma could be a breakthrough in improving survival. The Challenge of Malignant Mesothelioma Scientists have known about…

Study May Lead to Safer Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma
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Study May Lead to Safer Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

New research conducted in Europe and at Harvard University may open the door to safer immunotherapy for mesothelioma patients.  Immunotherapy is one of the most promising approaches to fight malignant mesothelioma. But the potential side effects can be devastating.  Now, new data suggests there are ways to reduce the complications of immunotherapy for mesothelioma. The key is to target some of the white blood cells that trigger inflammation. Inflammation is the driver behind most of the serious side effects of immunotherapy.  Why Harness the Immune System? No one ever expects to contract mesothelioma. It is an extremely rare cancer. Most people who get it have spent time living or working around asbestos. Even among asbestos-exposed people, mesothelioma is rare. Scientists…

Immunotherapy Treatment ONCOS-102: News Keeps Getting Better
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Immunotherapy Treatment ONCOS-102: News Keeps Getting Better

ByAlex Strauss

The news just keeps getting better for the virus-based immunotherapy treatment ONCOS-102.  Norweigian drug maker Targovax recently released the final survival data from a two-year study of ONCOS-102 in people with malignant pleural mesothelioma.  Eighteen months into the study, it looked like some of the patients on the immunotherapy treatment would live longer than two years. Now that the ONCOS-102 study has passed the two year mark, researchers say median survival may be even longer.  Average survival is a year or less on standard mesothelioma therapies. This makes the news about ONCOS-102 especially exciting.  Standard of Care Versus Immunotherapy Treatment Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. Even patients in overall good health face a grim outlook….

Effectiveness of Keytruda: Dutch Study Offers Clues for Prediction
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Effectiveness of Keytruda: Dutch Study Offers Clues for Prediction

ByAlex Strauss

A new Dutch study offers some clues that might help doctors predict the effectiveness of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in individual mesothelioma patients.  Keytruda is the brand name for pembrolizumab. It is an immunotherapy drug called an immune checkpoint inhibitor. It helps unmask mesothelioma cells so that the immune system can find and fight them.  But the effectiveness of Keytruda is not consistent. Some patients respond well while others do not respond at all. The new study looked at how different people metabolize the drug. Understanding this could help doctors determine the best dose for each mesothelioma patient.  Pembrolizumab and its Link to Mesothelioma Survival Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a deadly form of lung cancer. Asbestos exposure is the main cause of…

Breath Test Could Predict Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Response
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Breath Test Could Predict Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Response

ByAlex Strauss

New research shows a breath test called an eNose might help doctors determine which mesothelioma patients are most likely to respond to immunotherapy.  Immunotherapy is one of the most promising new approaches to malignant mesothelioma. But not every patient responds.  A new Dutch study suggests that biomarkers in a patient’s exhaled breath may be indicators of immunotherapy response. The eNose breath test can identify those biomarkers quickly and easily. The technology might make it easier to decide on the best mesothelioma treatment.  Immunotherapy for Malignant Mesothelioma Pleural mesothelioma is a rare but deadly cancer of the lung lining. Until last year, chemotherapy with Alimta (pemetrexed) was the only FDA-approved systemic treatment.  In 2020, the FDA approved a combination of immunotherapy…

Treatment with Dendritic Cells Leads to Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival in Small Studies
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Treatment with Dendritic Cells Leads to Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival in Small Studies

ByAlex Strauss

Three small studies suggest that dendritic cells may offer a new, more promising way to fight malignant pleural mesothelioma.  Dendritic cells are immune system cells that function as messengers. They are supposed to signal T-cells to attack cancers like malignant mesothelioma. But mesothelioma cells can keep dendritic cells from doing their job. The result is that the number of activated T-cells around mesothelioma tumors stays low and the tumors keep growing.   Now, Dutch researchers studying the problem say a vaccine made from dendritic cells may hold the answer. They analyzed the results of three small dendritic cell studies. These studies included a total of 29 mesothelioma patients.  Some of the patients in these studies lived much longer than mesothelioma patients normally…

Inflammation Protein May Impact Drug Therapies for Mesothelioma
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Inflammation Protein May Impact Drug Therapies for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A protein involved in the inflammatory process could impact how patients respond to drug therapies for mesothelioma. The news comes from researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.  The team led by Joseph Testa, PhD, recently released a study of a protein called RIPK3 and its role in malignant mesothelioma.  Their research showed that people with little or no expression of RIPK3 were less sensitive to drug therapies for mesothelioma. Turning that gene back on might make tumor cells more responsive. The finding could lead to new, more powerful ways to treat this aggressive cancer.  RIPK3, Mesothelioma, and Inflammation Mesothelioma is a rare but fast-growing form of cancer that comes from asbestos exposure. Tumors grow on the tissue that…

Higher PD-L1 Protein May Predict Shorter Mesothelioma Survival
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Higher PD-L1 Protein May Predict Shorter Mesothelioma Survival

ByAlex Strauss

Mesothelioma patients with higher levels of the PD-L1 protein in their tumor cells have worse overall survival compared to those with lower levels. But that may not be true for patients who have immunotherapy. That news comes from a new European study of more than 200 patients. PD-L1 and its partner protein PD-1 (found in immune system cells) are popular targets for new immunotherapy drugs. But the new study aimed to find out if they impact mesothelioma survival independently of immunotherapy. The team concluded the PD-L1 protein may shorten lifespan. PD-1 does not seem to have the same effect.  Pleural Mesothelioma and the PD-L1 Protein Pleural mesothelioma is an intractable cancer of the lung lining. It often leads to poor…

Different Mesothelioma Subtypes: Gene Study Could Lead to Targeted Treatments
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Different Mesothelioma Subtypes: Gene Study Could Lead to Targeted Treatments

ByAlex Strauss

A group of European pathologists say the different mesothelioma subtypes have significant differences in their pattern of gene expression. Exploiting these differences could help scientists craft more effective mesothelioma treatments.  Asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma. But doctors know that genetics play a role, too. Newly-approved immunotherapy drugs target proteins expressed by specific genes. But these drugs work much better in some mesothelioma patients than they do in others.  The new study suggests that differences in the genetic profiles of different mesothelioma subtypes could help explain why.  Immunotherapy Drugs for Mesothelioma Immunotherapy is an up-and-coming treatment approach for mesothelioma and other cancers. It harnesses the power of the person’s immune system to fight cancer.  In people with mesothelioma,…

Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival With Immunotherapy Combination
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Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival With Immunotherapy Combination

ByAlex Strauss

An immunotherapy combination of tremelimumab and durvalumab has resulted in long-term survival for some mesothelioma patients in a new follow-up Italian study.  Tremelimumab and durvalumab (Imfinzi) received orphan drug designation from the FDA last year for liver cancer. Now, it looks like this immunotherapy combination could help some people with the rare asbestos cancer, too.  Mesothelioma patients who had the best results in the new study were those with a high number of mutated genes. Mesothelioma is often fatal within a year. But the longest-living patient in the study survived for more than 41 months.  Immunotherapy Combination Blocks Key Proteins White blood cells have the power to help combat mesothelioma. But a protein called CTLA-4 can block that ability. Tremelimumab…