Bevacizumab: An Immune Therapy in Mesothelioma Treatment
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Bevacizumab: An Immune Therapy in Mesothelioma Treatment

Bevacizumab, an immune therapy, enhances the immune system to target cancer cells. Historically, chemotherapy drugs were considered the standard treatment. But, a new study highlights bevacizumab, an immune therapy. It can now be considered in combination with mesothelioma treatments where accessible. Chemotherapy has been a popular treatment therapy. Cytotoxic chemotherapy uses anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. It results in a modest improvement in patient survival. But toxicity limits the eligible patient population. Targeted Chemotherapy Agents Immunotherapies are now playing a greater role in the treatment of many cancers. The last decade has presented a paradigm shift. There has been a change in the way we understand the relationship between the immune system and cancer progression. Several targeted agents…

New “Real World” Study of Immunotherapy for Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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New “Real World” Study of Immunotherapy for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

A new study from one of the nation’s top cancer centers supports the role of immunotherapy in peritoneal mesothelioma treatment. Immunotherapy is a treatment approach that aims to harness the body’s natural defense system to fight cancer.  Several immunotherapy drugs have been tested for pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma affects the lungs. Last year, the FDA approved a new combination of immunotherapy drugs for the pleural form of asbestos cancer.  But there is less data on immunotherapy for peritoneal mesothelioma. Researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center just released their findings on a class of immunotherapy drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). They say it is the first “real-world evidence” of clinical outcomes with ICIs in peritoneal mesothelioma patients. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors…

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

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…