immunotherapy

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Immunotherapy Prompts “Remarkable Response” in Sarcomatoid Pleural Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss March 10, 2020

Japanese doctors are reporting a remarkable response from the immunotherapy drug nivolumab in a patient with sarcomatoid pleural mesothelioma. Sarcomatoid pleural mesothelioma is a very rare form of a rare cancer. It accounts for about 10 percent of cases of malignant mesothelioma. This subtype is typically less responsive to standard treatments than the more common epithelioid variety. But researches at Kyushu Hospital in Fukuoka, Japan say nivolumab turned things around for their patient when the case looked hopeless. How is Sarcomatoid Pleural Mesothelioma DIfferent? Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer of the linings around organs. Pleural mesothelioma grows on the pleural membrane that surrounds the lungs. There are three cell subtypes of mesothelioma. The three subtypes respond differently to mesothelioma treatments….

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Europe | Immunotherapy | International | Treatments

Amazing Keytruda Case Study Offers Hope for Advanced Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss February 27, 2020

Italian doctors are reporting an “impressive clinical response” in a recently published Keytruda case study. The case is encouraging news for people with advanced malignant mesothelioma. The case involves a 45-year-old woman with metastatic pleural mesothelioma. Doctors found cancer in her chest, brain, and abdomen. Even after several kinds of chemotherapy, the patient continued to go down hill. Finally, when it looked like the woman would not live much longer, doctors tried Keytruda (pembrolizumab). The Keytruda case study documents the patient’s amazing turnaround. Case Looked Hopeless The 45-year old woman in the Keytruda case study first went to the doctor because of shortness of breath. Doctors found that she had pleural effusion. This is a build-up of lung fluid that…

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Europe | Immunotherapy | International | New Studies | Research | Treatments

Immunotherapy with ONCOS-102 Shows Promise for Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss February 5, 2020

Early results are in on the latest trial of immunotherapy with ONCOS-102 and the news is good for pleural mesothelioma patients. Norweigian drug maker Targovax released the news about ONCOS-102 earlier this week. The new drug is based on an oncolytic virus that targets mesothelioma cells. When the virus gets inside the cells, it triggers an immune response. Early tests of immunotherapy with ONCOS-102 showed it helped mesothelioma chemotherapy work better. Now, a larger study appears to confirm the effect. The news could lead to new and better treatments for this intractable cancer. What is an Oncolytic Virus? An oncolytic virus is a virus that targets cancer cells. ONCOS-102 was designed to seek out mesothelioma cells. It is made out…

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Europe | Immune Systems | International | New Studies | Research

First-Line Keytruda Treatment May Support Longer Mesothelioma Survival
ByAlex Strauss September 12, 2019

New data suggests first-line Keytruda treatment helps lung cancer patients more than chemotherapy – even if chemotherapy patients add Keytruda later. The news is likely to have implications for people with pleural mesothelioma, too. German researchers presented the data earlier this week at the World Lung Cancer Conference in Barcelona. The presentation was based on three years of the KEYNOTE-024 trial. The trial focused on lung cancer. But Keytruda is also an up-and-coming drug for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a lung-related cancer similar to non-small cell lung cancer. Blocking PD-L1 with First-Line Keytruda Treatment Keytruda is the brand name for pembrolizumab. It is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that blocks a protein called PD-L1. To be eligible for first-line…

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Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | Multi-Modality Therapy | Research | Treatments

New Hope for Relapsed Pleural Mesothelioma?
ByAlex Strauss September 2, 2019

There is new evidence that adding a drug called vorinostat to immunotherapy might help relapsed pleural mesothelioma patients. The new study comes from the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. It focused on patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancer is similar to pleural mesothelioma in many ways. The study found that patients who received vorinostat along with an immune checkpoint inhibitor had better results. The findings could be good news for relapsed pleural mesothelioma patients, too. Different Immunotherapy Drugs Vorinostat is sold under the brand name Zolinza. It is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. HDAC inhibitors alter the way proteins are expressed inside cells. They also stimulate the immune system. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) like Keytruda also…

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Chemotherapy | Europe | Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | International | Research | Treatments

Effect of Chemotherapy on Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma
ByAlex Strauss August 31, 2019

Belgian scientists say they are still not sure about the effect of chemotherapy on immunotherapy for mesothelioma. They reached that conclusion after testing several different chemotherapy drugs on mesothelioma cells in the lab. The combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy is “chemoimmunotherapy”. It aims to harness the unique powers of each treatment approach. A meta-analysis last May called chemoimmunotherapy the “next frontier” in mesothelioma treatment. But the new Belgian study on the effect of chemotherapy on immunotherapy highlights how much doctors still do not know about the combo. Immune Checkpoints Are the Key When it is working properly, the immune system is supposed to find and kill cancer cells before they become mesothelioma tumors. But mesothelioma cells can hide from the…

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Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | New Drugs | Research | Treatments

New Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Trial Now Underway at Baylor
ByAlex Strauss August 12, 2019

Cancer researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have launched a new mesothelioma immunotherapy trial. The trial combines the cancer drug Opdivo (nivolumab) with injections of a modified virus called MTG201. Baylor scientists are hoping to recruit 12 pleural mesothelioma patients whose cancer has come back after chemotherapy. The treatment combination appeared to work well in mice with mesothelioma. If it works as well in people, this new mesothelioma immunotherapy trial could change the outlook for many people with malignant mesothelioma. How the New Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Trial Will Work Opdivo is the brand name for nivolumab. It blocks a protein called PD-1 in cancer cells. PD-1 is one of the ways that mesothelioma cells evade the immune system. Opdivo is often…

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Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | Research | Treatments

Mesothelioma Immunotherapy Drug Keytruda Gets a Boost from Opdivo Study
ByAlex Strauss July 27, 2019July 25, 2019

The company that makes a promising new mesothelioma immunotherapy drug got a boost from a competitor’s study this week. The makers of the lung cancer drug Opdivo have released some disappointing results from their latest lung cancer trial. The findings present another setback for Bristol-Myers Squibb. But they are good news for Merck, the maker of the mesothelioma immunotherapy drug Keytruda. In the wake of the publication, Merck’s stocks rose while Bristol-Myers’ dropped. How Opdivo Works Opdivo is the brand name for nivolumab. It is a monoclonal antibody that blocks PD-1. PD-1 is a cell surface protein expressed by some lung cancer and mesothelioma tumors. An Australian study estimated that more than 72 percent of mesothelioma patients overexpress PD-1. Opdivo…

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Chemotherapy | Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | Research | Treatments

Immunotherapy Vaccine for Mesothelioma Shows Promise in Combination Treatment
ByAlex Strauss July 3, 2019

A bacteria-based immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma may improve the odds of surviving the disease by boosting the effects of chemotherapy. That is the word from the latest clinical trial of CRS-207 headed by researchers at the National Cancer Institute. Thirty-five inoperable patients received the immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma along with standard mesothelioma chemotherapy. Eighty-nine percent of them experienced either a full or partial response to the treatment combination. CRS-207 Immunotherapy Vaccine for Mesothelioma CRS-207 is based on a modified version of Listeria monocytogenes. The bacterium is best known for causing the food borne illness Listeriosis. In CRS-207, the bacteria has been changed so it cannot make patients sick. The immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma uses the bacteria to trigger a powerful…

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Genetics | Immune Systems | Immunotherapy | Radiation Therapy | Research | Treatments

Palliative Radiotherapy for Mesothelioma Produces “Substantial Treatment Response”
ByAlex Strauss May 8, 2019

Doctors in Pennsylvania may have found a way to boost the effectiveness of palliative radiotherapy for pleural mesothelioma. Palliative radiotherapy is used to help with mesothelioma symptoms. It uses lower doses of radiation. Doctors do not expect to treat mesothelioma with palliative radiotherapy. But researchers at the University of Pennsylvania think it could also be a treatment. They combined palliative radiotherapy with a special kind of gene therapy. The gene therapy affects the immune system. They say the combination produced a “substantial treatment response” in a man with mesothelioma. Immuno-gene Therapy and Palliative Radiotherapy Immuno-gene therapy uses genes to stimulate the immune system against cancer. In the new Pennsylvania case study, a 67-year-old man with mesothelioma received immuno-gene therapy. Doctors…

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