Understanding Treatment Options for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
| |

Understanding Treatment Options for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer and standard therapies are limited. Therefore, most patients consider one or more of three treatment options. These paths use different types of therapies and they are usually not exclusive. Mesothelioma patients can move from one type to another and, if their doctors agree, can sometimes use them in combination. A new publication gives an overview of the best treatment options currently available for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Standard therapies include chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. If more than one of these therapies is used it is may be called multi-modality therapy. Oncologists are the doctors who provide chemo and radiation. Of course, surgeons provide surgeries. Understanding the Mesothelioma Diagnosis Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a…

Treatment Combination for Younger Pre-Treated Mesothelioma Patients

Treatment Combination for Younger Pre-Treated Mesothelioma Patients

ByHolly Zink

There are many systemic therapies recommended for mesothelioma patients. Different therapies may work best for different patient populations. Different therapies may work better for older versus younger patients. Or, patients who have received treatment before. An international team of clinicians published a new study on this topic. They found a treatment strategy that works best for younger pre-treated patients. The Young (65 years or younger) and Pre-Treated Patient Mesothelioma patients who have received treatment once before, are often called “pre-treated.” Clinicians often have more personalized data available for these patients. This affects the clinician’s treatment strategy. A new study compared the data from nine different mesothelioma clinical trials. These clinical trials spanned standard and experimental treatment options. The results are…

Comparing 3 Standard Treatments for Mesothelioma
| |

Comparing 3 Standard Treatments for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

There are three standard treatments for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Patients and doctors want to know which is more effective. A new study from the Davidoff Cancer Center in Israel sought to do just that. This study compared three clinical trials of the standard treatments recommended for malignant mesothelioma. All three treatments involved different chemotherapy drugs. Treatment A was cisplatin plus pemetrexed vs cisplatin. Treatment B was cisplatin plus pemetrexed plus bevacizumab vs cisplatin plus pemetrexed. And Treatment C was nivolumab plus ipilimumab vs cisplatin plus pemetrexed. Urgent Need to Identify Effective Treatment Strategies Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the primary cancer of the pleural lining. It is caused by exposure to asbestos. It affected more than 30,000 patients globally in 2020….

First-Line Chemotherapy versus Immunotherapy versus Maintenance Therapy
| |

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…

Immunotherapeutic and Targeted Approaches to Mesothelioma Treatment
| |

Immunotherapeutic and Targeted Approaches to Mesothelioma Treatment

ByHolly Zink

Immunotherapeutic and targeted approaches might make mesothelioma more responsive to chemotherapy. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive disease. Asbestos exposure has led to globally poor outcomes. While mesothelioma is an uncommon disease, its occurrence is increasing worldwide. Immunotherapy drugs have the potential to make chemotherapy more effective for mesothelioma patients. Researchers theorized immunotherapeutic and targeted approaches might make mesothelioma more responsive to chemotherapy. The latest results in Molecular and Clinical Oncology suggest that they were right. The findings could have implications for people around the world with mesothelioma. First- and Second-Line Treatment Options for Mesothelioma Patients affected by mesothelioma have a very severe prognosis. Mesothelioma develops after three to four decades after initial exposure to asbestos. For years, the main…

Putting the Newest Mesothelioma “Orphan Drug” Into Perspective

Putting the Newest Mesothelioma “Orphan Drug” Into Perspective

ByAlex Strauss

Last week, the FDA announced the approval of a new orphan drug for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. According to drug manufacturer MTG Biotherapeutics, MTG-201 is an “advanced biologic therapy” that targets a particular gene defect present in cancer cells. This defect prevents cells from producing a protein that is critical in apoptosis or programmed cell death. Without it, mesothelioma cells are free to replicate out of control and migrate to others parts of the body. MTG-201 also appears to trigger the immune system to produce mesothelioma-fighting T-cell lymphocytes that can target and destroy residual cancer cells. The two mechanisms together give it the potential to help combat mesothelioma in a new and potentially more effective way than conventional therapies….

Making Mesothelioma Cells More Susceptible to Chemotherapy
| | | | | | | |

Making Mesothelioma Cells More Susceptible to Chemotherapy

ByAlex Strauss

A potential new mesothelioma drug may have moved a step closer to gaining mainstream acceptance for use in sick patients. Doctors studying the drug say they have found a way to make cells more susceptible to its damaging effects. GDC-0980, also known as Apitolisib, is a class I inhibitor of two cell signaling pathways – P13 and mTOR – both of which play critical roles in regulating the life cycle of cells, including mesothelioma cells. Because mesothelioma is so difficult to treat with standard chemotherapy drugs, researchers around the world are exploring ways to improve treatment by manipulating the vital signaling pathways inside mesothelioma cells. Now, doctors at cancer research centers in the US, the UK, and Switzerland say they…

Could a Virus-Delivered Gene Slow Mesothelioma Growth?
| | | | | | | |

Could a Virus-Delivered Gene Slow Mesothelioma Growth?

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers in Japan are enrolling mesothelioma patients into a trial to test whether blocking a growth signaling pathway inside mesothelioma cells could slow down this aggressive cancer or even stop its progression. The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-Met signal pathway is highly active in mesothelioma and many other types of cancer cells, telling them to grow and replicate quickly. In the lab, scientists have shown that the NK4 gene, which shares a molecular structure similar to HGF, can interrupt this signaling pathway and keep cancer cells from growing out of control. In a new study launched this summer by researchers at several Japanese universities, scientists will be testing a method of delivering NK4 to the site of mesothelioma tumors by administering a virus designed…

Kidney Cancer Drug Slows Mesothelioma Growth in Mice
| | | | | | | |

Kidney Cancer Drug Slows Mesothelioma Growth in Mice

ByAlex Strauss

A drug that has been shown to slow the growth of renal cell carcinoma may have moved a step closer to becoming a viable addition to the arsenal of patients fighting malignant mesothelioma. Temsirolimus is a kinase inhibitor that appears to work against mesothelioma, in part, by blocking the action of a protein that tells cancer cells to replicate. In laboratory tests on isolated tumor cells, temsirolimus effectively blocked the gene pathway known as mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) that is responsible for signaling the growth and division of all types of mesothelioma. Now, a new study conducted by scientists in Greece and the UK suggests that the compound may do the same thing in living patients. The doctors induced…

European Group Issues Updated Treatment Guidelines for Mesothelioma
| | | | | | | | | | |

European Group Issues Updated Treatment Guidelines for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

A group of medical researchers has just released an updated set of clinical practice guidelines for treating patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, one of the rarest and most treatment-resistant forms of cancer. The guidelines, released by the European Society for Medical Oncology and published in the newest issue of the Annals of Oncology, contain six sets of recommendations designed to support clinicians in the management of mesothelioma from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up. Recommendation for Mesothelioma Diagnosis The updated ESMO mesothelioma guidelines recommend that all patients undergo a thorough occupational history with emphasis on asbestos exposure and a CT scan of their chest. They also recommend that all patients with pleural thickening have a biopsy but do not recommend routine…