New Hope for Treating Pleural Mesothelioma: Breakthrough Therapies on the Horizon
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New Hope for Treating Pleural Mesothelioma: Breakthrough Therapies on the Horizon

ByHolly Zink

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare and tough cancer with a history of limited treatment options and a difficult prognosis. But recent years have brought good news for patients, as new treatments give hope to those facing this challenging condition. A Positive Shift in Treatment Since 2021, a big change has happened in how we treat pleural mesothelioma. Doctors now use immune checkpoint inhibitors as the first choice for treatment. These include nivolumab and ipilimumab. This is a big step forward for patients who once had few options for this tough cancer. Combining chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors is a good next step. But researchers are also exploring other ways to treat pleural mesothelioma. They are learning more about how this…

Understanding Treatment Options for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
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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…

Predicting How a Patient Will Respond to Mesothelioma Treatment
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Predicting How a Patient Will Respond to Mesothelioma Treatment

ByHolly Zink

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer. Early diagnosis is challenging. Treatments are the first clinical option in the advanced disease stage. A doctor’s initial clinical response says a lot about the patient’s prognosis. It may even represent a useful way to identify patients with a better long-term outcome. A new Italian study from the Journal of Clinical Medicine looks at this possibility. First Mesothelioma Treatment Response Options Scientists looked at the initial treatment response in 46 mesothelioma patients who had pleural mesothelioma. None of these patients had surgery as an option because their tumors were considered inoperable. The doctor’s initial treatment response included a CT scan and clinical examination. This examination was usually after 2–3 cycles of drug therapy….

First-Line Chemotherapy versus Immunotherapy versus Maintenance Therapy
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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…

Treatment Options Improving in the ‘New Era’ for Mesothelioma
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Treatment Options Improving in the ‘New Era’ for Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

Calling it a “new era” for malignant pleural mesothelioma, doctors from four of the nation’s top cancer centers have just published an update on treatment options for this rare disease.  The article was prepared by mesothelioma experts at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, NYU Langone Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.  The article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology highlights the recent FDA approvals of a new medical device and a new immunotherapy combination for pleural mesothelioma. The authors say these and other advances are “generating momentum” to find better mesothelioma therapies.  Tumor Treating Fields Changing the Game Pleural mesothelioma is fast-growing and difficult to treat. Mesothelioma rarely responds…

Orphan Drug Approval Could Mean New Mesothelioma Treatment Option
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Orphan Drug Approval Could Mean New Mesothelioma Treatment Option

ByAlex Strauss

A drug designed to fight cancer by destroying the stem cells that give rise to new cancer cells has been granted orphan drug status for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The designation paves the way for mesothelioma patients, who often have few treatment options, to get access to VS-5584 earlier than it would otherwise be available. VS-5584 is a powerful inhibitor of a signaling pathway that regulates cancer progression and the survival of cancer stem cells. According to Verastem, the Boston-based maker of VS-5584, the drug has already received a similar designation for mesothelioma in Europe. “This is an important regulatory milestone for Verastem and… will facilitate our global development of VS-5584 to help improve the available treatment options for patients suffering…