mesothelioma treatments

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    Genes Key to Mesothelioma Chemotherapy Response

    ByMatt Clarke

    Research being performed in Eastern Europe may eventually help doctors around the world predict which mesothelioma patients will respond best to a particular type of chemotherapy. Mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer triggered by exposure to asbestos.  It is often treated with multiple modalities, including chemotherapy.  As more is understood about the impact of genetics on medication response, chemotherapy for cancers like mesothelioma is moving away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to a more tailored approach based on individual cellular characteristics. Now, a team of biochemists in Slovenia are studying genetically-linked responses to the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, a nucleoside analog that some studies have found to be a promising alternative to the more conventional cisplatin-pemetrexed combination for mesothelioma.  In a phase II trial involving 78 mesothelioma…

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    New Approach to Predict Mesothelioma Drug Response

    ByAlex Strauss

    In the ongoing worldwide effort to find better treatments for mesothelioma cancer, a group of Italian doctors believe they have a better way of determining which patients will respond to a cancer medication called Gefitinib. A cell protein called Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase is overexpressed in the cells of certain types of cancers, including mesothelioma.  EGFR overexpression can cause uncontrolled cell replication and faster tumor growth.  As an effective EGRF inhibitor, Gefitinib can sometimes help stop that uncontrolled growth.   But the treatment doesn’t work as well in all patients. In a study published in the Public Library of Science, the Italian researchers say the presence of estrogen and estrogen receptors may help determine which mesothelioma patients need Gefitinib most. …

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    Mesothelioma Sometimes Spreads to Unexpected Places

    ByAlex Strauss

    The asbestos-linked cancer mesothelioma is usually found in the pleural cavity around the lungs, or the peritoneal cavity encasing the abdomen. But several new studies are reminders of the fact that mesothelioma can spread (metastasize) to unexpected areas of the body. An article in a recent issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery details the case of a 72-year-old woman who was successfully treated for malignant pleural mesothelioma, only to have the disease show up again 2 years later in her colon.  After receiving a diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma, the patient underwent surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.  But after two years of follow-up, she was admitted to the hospital with anemia and a CT scan found a large bleeding polyp in…

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    Radiotherapy and EPP is a Winning Combo for Some Mesothelioma Patients

    ByAlex Strauss

    Another study has confirmed the value of radiotherapy as an adjuvant treatment for mesothelioma patients who undergo extrapleural pneumonectomy. A team of Italian researchers recently analyzed the records of 56 mesothelioma patients who had been treated with adjuvant radiotherapy after extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery (EPP) between 2005 and 2010. Caused by exposure to asbestos, malignant mesothelioma is a fast-growing cancer of the mesothelial lining around the lungs and other organs. Extrapleural pneumonectomy is a radical surgical procedure that involves removing not only the mesothelioma tumors, but also the lung closest to the tumor and a portion of the diaphragm. Although EPP is controversial due to its high rate of complications, a number of studies have shown it to increase survival, especially…

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    New Compound Proves Effective Against Mesothelioma in Mice

    ByAlex Strauss

    Japanese researchers believe they have found a powerful new compound to fight the aggressive cancer –malignant pleural mesothelioma. The team at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo have had success using a novel therapeutic compound called JBIR-23 in mice. JBIR-23 is a natural compound first derived from the bacteria Streptomyces sp. AK-AB27 in 2008.  In laboratory test tube studies, its unique chemical structure appears to have a cytotoxic effect on mesothelioma cells and promote apoptosis (cell death). When the compound was tested on mice with mesothelioma, the effect was the same.  JBIR-23 appears to prevent the further growth of the tumor, without loss of weight or other observable side effects. The news is promising in light…

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    Light Treatment for Mesothelioma May Get Special Status

    ByAlex Strauss

    A cutting edge treatment that uses light to kill cancer cells could soon be more widely available for mesothelioma patients. The makers of Photofrin (porfimer sodium), a drug used in photodynamic therapy, have filed for Orphan Drug designation with the FDA. An ‘orphan drug’ is classified as one developed to treat a disease affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans. Although orphan drugs must meet the same FDA standards as other drugs for safety and efficacy, their special classification can help move them to market sooner by offering tax incentives and relaxing some of the testing requirements, such as a the number of patients needed for clinical trials. Orphan drug designation for Photofrin could offer another treatment option for mesothelioma patients. Caused…

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    Mesothelioma Prognosis Accuracy Improves with PET/CT ‘Delayed Phase’

    ByAlex Strauss

    More research has confirmed the value of FDG-PET/CT technology for predicting treatment response in mesothelioma – especially when the scan is conducted in two phases. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces three-dimensional images of functional processes in the body.  When the molecule FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose, a type of sugar) is used as the tracer, PET allows doctors to ‘see’ metabolic processes as they are happening.  Because metabolism is often higher in cancer cells, FDG-PET has proven to be a useful tool for diagnosing mesothelioma, the asbestos-linked cancer.   When FDG-PET is combined with computed tomography (CT), another powerful imaging test, the resulting images contain even more potentially crucial diagnostic, staging and prognostic information for mesothelioma. Now, a study conducted in Japan…

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    Outlook Better for Women with Peritoneal Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Women with diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma have a better chance of success with surgery and chemotherapy than their male counterparts. That is the conclusion of researchers at the Baird Institute for Applied Heart and Lung Surgical Research in Sydney, Australia.  Using the records of 294 peritoneal mesothelioma patients treated at multiple institutions in the past two decades, the researchers set out to measure the impact of gender on overall survival after treatment. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a type of mesothelioma that spreads quickly across the mesothelial lining of the abdomen. Asbestos exposure is its only known cause. Because of the aggressive nature of the disease, mesothelioma is typically treated using a multi-modal approach. The subjects of the Australian study had all been…

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    Order May Impact Mesothelioma Drug Availability

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma patients on certain types of chemotherapy drugs may have easier access to their treatment in the wake of an executive order from President Obama. The President is calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “take action” to combat shortages of certain critical medications. On the list of drugs in dwindling supply is the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, one of the most commonly-used drugs to treat mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but deadly form of cancer triggered by asbestos exposure that affects an estimated 2,500 Americans each year. Cisplatin, in combination with pemetrexed (Alimta) is the FDA approved first line treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma. At a news conference in Washington last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen…

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    Cell Nucleus a “Strong Predictor” of Mesothelioma Survival

    ByAlex Strauss

    A new study from one of the country’s leading cancer centers suggests that the nuclei of mesothelioma cells may hold vital clues for predicting patient survival. Mesothelioma is an aggressive type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.  Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common subtype.  Doctors often use the cancer’s stage – a measure of cancer extent and severity – to predict how well patients will respond to treatment.  But now a group of scientific researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the U.S. and Kagawa University in Japan believe they have found an even more effective prognostic indicator – inside the nucleus of mesothelioma cells. To conduct their experiment, the researchers examined the slides of 232 patients who had been…