mesothelioma treatments

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    Second Treatment Effective for Peritoneal Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    There is some good news from the Wake Forest School of Medicine for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. In many cases, after a mesothelioma patient has been treated with one therapy, that therapy is not used again.  This means that when a treatment fails, many mesothelioma patients often run out of treatment options. But researchers at Wake Forest have confirmed that, for patients whose peritoneal mesothelioma recurs after surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a second treatment may be just as effective at prolonging survival. Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the abdomen.  It is the result of ingestion or inhalation of asbestos fibers. Cytoreductive (CRS) surgery involved a scraping away of the tumor from the peritoneum. When it is followed …

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    Protein May Predict Mesothelioma Treatment Response

    ByAlex Strauss

    Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare but highly aggressive type of cancer.  Because it spreads so quickly, treatment success can hinge on predicting which treatments are likely to work and choosing the right treatment protocol early. Now, there may be a new way to improve survival by making that prediction even more accurate. Mesothelioma researchers at several medical centers across Austria say a cell protein, know as serum C-Reactive Protein (CRP), may hold the key. CRP is a type of protein produced in the liver when the body is experiencing acute inflammation or infection. CRP levels rise to help the body jump start its immune response. Test Method To test the relationship between CRP levels and mesothelioma, researchers analyzed the medical records…

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    Immunotherapy for Mesothelioma Shows Promise

    ByAlex Strauss

    Despite the continuing efforts of researchers around the world, there is currently no standardized cure for mesothelioma. The asbestos-linked cancer is fast-growing and often resistant to conventional therapies. But a growing number of studies have pointed to the value of unconventional treatments like immunotherapy for mesothelioma. Immunotherapy refers to any treatment protocol which aims to harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells.  In a recent article in The Lancet Oncology, two National Cancer Institute researchers summarized some of the most promising immunotherapy approaches now being investigated for mesothelioma: In dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, dendritic cells are harvested from the patient. Outside the body, these cells are stimulated to activate a cytotoxic response against cancer cells.  When they are…

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    Protease Imaging May Track Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A chemical that turns certain extracellular enzymes fluorescent may offer an effective, non-invasive method for tracking the progression of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the membrane around the lungs. Because mesothelioma tumors tend to be thin and spread out, they are more difficult to ‘see’ with standard imaging methods than some solid tumors. Sometimes, surgery is the only reliable way to determine how fast and how large a mesothelioma tumor is growing. But researchers at Penn State and the University of Pennsylvania, one of the country’s most active mesothelioma research centers, say they have successfully used an optical imaging agent called ProSense 680 to measure the size of mesothelioma tumors in living mice. ProSense 680 is…

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    Mesothelioma Study: Quality of Life “Acceptable” with Pneumonectomy

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma patients who undergo lung removal surgery (pneumonectomy) can still enjoy an acceptable quality of life, in spite of the risks associated with the surgery. That is the conclusion of a seven-year Italian study on patients who had pneumonectomy for either lung cancer or mesothelioma between January 2003 and March 2010.  A Total of 71 patients were enrolled in the study. Twenty-six of them had their right lung removed while 31 had left-sided pneumonectomy. Eleven patients had more extensive pneumonectomies that also involved removal of structures other than the lung, such as parts of the trachea, diaphragm or lung lining. At one-year, 93% of the mesothelioma and lung cancer patients who had undergone pneumonectomies were still alive, although all had begun…

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    Immunotherapy May Improve Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A treatment designed to inhibit a cell protein called CTLA-4 may improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy for mesothelioma. Chemotherapy is considered a front-line treatment for mesothelioma, although it is only moderately effective.  Because mesothelioma is a highly aggressive cancer of the mesothelium, chemotherapy is often used as part of a multimodality therapeutic approach. Increasingly, immunotherapy, which involves manipulation of the genes and immune system, is also part of the treatment approach. CTLA-4 is the name for both a protein and the gene that is responsible for producing it.  A recent published study tested the theory that knocking down cellular production of the CTLA-4 protein could slow tumor growth and stimulate the immune system between rounds of chemotherapy. To test the…

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    High Dose Radiation: Viable for Mesothelioma?

    ByAlex Strauss

    Radiation therapy may be a better option for mesothelioma than it used to be – especially when it is delivered using advanced targeting technology. That is the message presented recently to thousands of the world’s lung cancer specialists at the European Lung Cancer Conference by a team of Australian researchers. Observing that many mesothelioma patients are not candidates for surgery and chemotherapy provides poor local control with serious toxicities, Dr. Malcolm Fiegen and his team analyzed the effectiveness of high dose radiation treatments for mesothelioma patients from 2003 to 2011. In the past, high-dose radiation has often been dismissed as a viable treatment option for mesothelioma because the irregular shape of mesothelioma tumors made it difficult to avoid toxic overdoses to healthy…

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    Drug Combo Fails to Improve Mesothelioma Survival

    ByAlex Strauss

    Adding the VEGF-inhibitor bevacizumab to a popular chemotherapy combination for mesothelioma does not appear to prolong survival after all. Scientists at 11 of the nation’s top cancer centers have reached that conclusion after a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled test of the combination. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors (VEGF) are signal proteins produced by cells that play an important role in the formation of blood vessels and in cell growth and division. Some VEGF-inhibitors have shown activity against malignant mesothelioma in preclinical models. Bevacizumab is a popular VEGF-inhibitor. The theory behind the multi-center clinical trial was that adding bevacizumab to the mesothelioma combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin would boost the effectiveness of the drugs and prolong survival. Mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by exposure to…

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    Orphan Drug Shows Survival Advantage in Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Long-term follow-up on a second-line drug for mesothelioma confirms its potential for prolonging survival. NGR-hTNF is a vascular targeting agent that appears to be able to seek out tumor cells and disrupt their blood vessel formation. It is currently the only drug in Phase III clinical trials specifically for mesothelioma patients whose disease has returned after chemotherapy. Presenting at the recent meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the drug’s maker, Italy-based MolMed S.p.A., said three year follow-up on Phase II mesothelioma trial subjects demonstrated a definite survival advantage among those who received the drug. Because it combines a peptide (NGR) with a cytokine (TNF), the NGR-hTNF is classified as a peptide/cytokine complex.  In Phase II clinical trials, its…

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    New Molecule May Aid Mesothelioma Diagnosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    Scientists at one of the nation’s top cancer centers say they have come up with a new imaging tool that may make it easier to diagnose and monitor mesothelioma. Mesothelioma, a cancer that attacks the membranes encasing the lungs or abdominal organs, is caused by exposure to airborne asbestos. It is a very challenging cancer to treat and most patients explore conventional therapies, clinical trials and integrative modalities. Mesothelioma symptoms, which can include shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing and chest pain, can mimic other illnesses, including lung cancer. Their sheet-like shape can also make mesothelioma tumors difficult to see on imaging studies. Just as treatment is usually multi-faceted, physicians often must use multiple methods to diagnose mesothelioma. One of the most popular…