New Advancements in Personalized Medicine for Mesothelioma
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New Advancements in Personalized Medicine for Mesothelioma

ByHolly Zink

Genomics is a new branch of medicine that involves using a patient’s genetic information to create personalized treatment. New research has begun looking at genetic personalized medicine for mesothelioma. Students from the University of Montana are developing personalized medicine for mesothelioma. Personalized Medicine and Mesothelioma Treatment Mesothelioma is a rare rare and aggressive cancer often caused by asbestos exposure. Environmental exposure to asbestos often causes a higher incidence of malignant mesothelioma. There are approximately 2,000 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in the U.S. every year. Current standard of care involves a multi-targeted drug combination of Pemetrexid and Cisplatin. This is the only FDA approved chemotherapy for mesothelioma. Chemotherapy is a group of toxic drugs that kill mesothelioma cells by damaging their…

Hope for Mesothelioma Patients with Genetic Predisposition (Germline PVs) for Cancer
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Hope for Mesothelioma Patients with Genetic Predisposition (Germline PVs) for Cancer

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a tumor caused by asbestos exposure. Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved immunotherapy treatment for mesothelioma. But the efficacy of available treatments is still limited. Researchers are still evaluating these new therapeutic approaches. They are also working to identify subgroups of patients who could benefit from precision medicine. Precision medicine uses information about a person’s tumor to find out how well a treatment is working. One of these groups could be represented by patients with an inherited cancer syndrome. These are caused by germline pathogenic variants (PVs) in DNA repair genes. A germline pathogenic variant is a gene variant (or mutation) that is passed from parent to child. These germline PVs are hereditary….

MicroRNAs in Cancer Development and Mesothelioma Personalized Medicine
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MicroRNAs in Cancer Development and Mesothelioma Personalized Medicine

ByHolly Zink

A special issue was published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine. Dr. Alessandra Pulliero from the University of Genoa in Italy talks about microRNA. Specifically, the role of microRNA in cancer development and personalized medicine. A microRNA (miRNA) is a small part of an RNA molecule. MiRNAs play a key role in the regulation of gene expression in cells, including mesothelioma cells. Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer often caused by asbestos exposure. Asbestos also causes a progressive lung disease called asbestosis. Environmental exposure to asbestos often causes a higher incidence of malignant mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma is characterized by poor prognosis and short survival. Personalized Medicine and Mesothelioma Scientists now know that the role of miRNAs changes once they…