Treating Mesothelioma with Curcumin: Success May Be Predictable
| | | | | | | | |

Treating Mesothelioma with Curcumin: Success May Be Predictable

ByAlex Strauss

Clinicians may be a step closer to being able to use curcumin to combat aggressive malignant pleural mesothelioma. Curcumin is the plant polyphenol that gives turmeric its yellow hue and spicy flavor. It has anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to inhibit the growth of mesothelioma cells from animal models in the laboratory. Now, for the first time, researchers in Australia say they have successfully done the same thing with human cells taken from their own mesothelioma patients. Researcher Sonja Klebe, an Associate Professor at Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia where the new research was conducted, says the breakthrough will allow doctors to predict whether or not a certain mesothelioma patient will benefit from treatment with curcumin. The research…

Ingredient in Vinegar Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Minutes
| | | | | |

Ingredient in Vinegar Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Minutes

ByAlex Strauss

There is new evidence that the primary ingredient in vinegar might eventually be used to help fight deadly malignant mesothelioma. Acetic acid is the colorless organic compound that gives vinegar its pungent smell and distinctive sour taste. It makes up 3 to 5% of vinegar. (The remaining 95-97% is water) In its pure form, acetic acid is used in the production of cellulose acetate for photographic film and polyvinyl acetate for wood glue, as well as some synthetic fibers and fabrics. It is also used as a food additive to regulate the acidity of certain foods and condiments.   Acetic acid was added into the cell cultures at different concentrations and for different lengths of time. The researchers then analyzed…

Japanese Doctors Test Potential New Target for Mesothelioma Therapy
| | | | | | |

Japanese Doctors Test Potential New Target for Mesothelioma Therapy

ByAlex Strauss

. Mesothelioma is a fast-growing and currently incurable cancer that occurs most often in people who have been exposed to the mineral asbestos. It grows on the linings around the lungs or other organs making surgery and targeted radiotherapy especially difficult. Current chemotherapy drugs typically do not improve survival by more than a few months and researchers around the world continue to search for a way to attack mesothelioma at the cellular level. Now, a new study out of Japan suggests that ganglioside GM2, a surface glycolipid that is overexpressed in a number of cancer types including multiple myeloma, neuroblastoma, and mesothelioma, may offer a way to do that. Glycolipids provide energy and serve as markers for cellular recognition. Oncologists…

Vitamin E Analog Inhibits Blood Vessel Growth in Mesothelioma Cells
| | |

Vitamin E Analog Inhibits Blood Vessel Growth in Mesothelioma Cells

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists say a form of Vitamin E may be able to help fight malignant mesothelioma by limiting the growth of tumor-feeding blood vessels. Researchers with Toyo University’s Graduate School of Life Sciences in Japan recently released a study on the redox-silent tocotrienol (Vitamin E) analog 6-O-carboxypropyl-α-tocotrienol – called T3E – and its impact on mesothelioma. Although previous studies have found T3E to have powerful anti-cancer properties, the goal of the new study was to better understand its mechanism in mesothelioma cells. According to a report in Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, T3E worked against mesothelioma cells by inhibiting the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a signaling protein that supplies fresh oxygen to cells by stimulating the growth of new…

New Protein ‘Mimic’ Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Lab Tests
| |

New Protein ‘Mimic’ Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Lab Tests

ByAlex Strauss

Scientists testing a novel compound on mesothelioma cells in the lab say it may have the power to not only trigger cellular death, but also to stop mesothelioma from growing and spreading. CFMs (CARP-1 Functional Mimetics) are a class of compounds that ‘mimic’ the action of a protein called Cell Cycle Regulatory Protein (CARP) 1. As the name implies, CARP-1 plays a key role in regulating the life cycle of cells, including telling cells when it is time to enter apoptosis or programmed cell death. Cancers like mesothelioma can result when cells fail to enter apoptosis on schedule, while new cells are being created at a faster rate. When mesothelioma cells were exposed to CFMs in the lab, not only…

Test May Distinguish Mesothelioma from Benign Conditions
| |

Test May Distinguish Mesothelioma from Benign Conditions

ByAlex Strauss

One of the biggest challenges for patients and clinicians dealing with malignant pleural mesothelioma is just getting a definitive diagnosis. Although mesothelioma is closely associated with asbestos, symptoms may not show up until decades after exposure, making it difficult to link the cause and effect. When symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath do occur, they are often attributed to other, less serious causes. But a recent article in Lung Cancer focuses on a promising new way to help distinguish mesothelioma from other conditions with similar characteristics. Researchers at the University of Chicago and cancer centers in the UK, France, and Japan say a glucose transport protein called GLUT-1 was present in half of the epithelioid mesothelioma cells…

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…

Human Trials Planned for Promising New Mesothelioma Drug
| | |

Human Trials Planned for Promising New Mesothelioma Drug

ByAlex Strauss

The Australian Asbestos Diseases Research Institute says it is ready to begin human trials on what its lead researcher calls the first significant advance in mesothelioma treatment in a decade. More than three years in development, TargomiRs utilizes a unique ‘minicell’ delivery system to insert a synthetic form of missing genetic material into mesothelioma cells. Like a number of other types of cancer, mesothelioma cells are missing a family of microRNAs critical to regulating the cellular life cycle. TargomiRs restores these microRNAs. In mice with human-derived mesothelioma, TargomiRs produced a “remarkable inhibition of tumour growth”, according to the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute. “The last significant development in the treatment of mesothelioma occurred ten years ago,” ADRI director Nico van Zandwijk…

Perifosine May Offer New Mesothelioma Treatment
| |

Perifosine May Offer New Mesothelioma Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

The makers of the anti-cancer drug perifosine say new research suggests the drug may offer a new way to fight malignant mesothelioma. The research article entitled “Perifosine as a Potential Novel Anti-Cancer Agent Inhibits EGFR/MET-AKT Axis in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma” was recently published in the peer-reviewed online medical journal Plos One. The announcement has been picked up by other news outlets because of the rarity of new treatments for mesothelioma, the asbestos-linked cancer that is diagnosed in about 2,500 Americans every year. In the new study, perifosine was tested on human mesothelial cells and a variety of mesothelioma cell lines to demonstrate its effectiveness alone or in combination with other mesothelioma treatments. When given at a high enough dose, perifosine interfered…

Potential Mesothelioma Therapy in a Spice
|

Potential Mesothelioma Therapy in a Spice

ByAlex Strauss

The major component in the spice turmeric may help treat drug resistant pleural mesothelioma. Researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit have been studying the effects of the compound, known as curcumin, on mesothelioma cells in the laboratory and in animal subjects. Their research suggests that curcumin has the power to attack mesothelioma from several angles. Pleural mesothelioma is an asbestos-related malignancy of the mesothelial tissue surrounding the lungs. It is aggressive and notoriously difficult to treat. The platinum-based chemotherapy drugs often used as a first-line treatment for mesothelioma may be ineffective if the patient has a strain of the disease that is resistant to them. So far, there is no proven alternative drug therapy for these patients. Now, the…