Treatment with Dendritic Cells Leads to Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival in Small Studies
| | | | |

Treatment with Dendritic Cells Leads to Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival in Small Studies

ByAlex Strauss

Three small studies suggest that dendritic cells may offer a new, more promising way to fight malignant pleural mesothelioma.  Dendritic cells are immune system cells that function as messengers. They are supposed to signal T-cells to attack cancers like malignant mesothelioma. But mesothelioma cells can keep dendritic cells from doing their job. The result is that the number of activated T-cells around mesothelioma tumors stays low and the tumors keep growing.   Now, Dutch researchers studying the problem say a vaccine made from dendritic cells may hold the answer. They analyzed the results of three small dendritic cell studies. These studies included a total of 29 mesothelioma patients.  Some of the patients in these studies lived much longer than mesothelioma patients normally…

Could an Inhaled Vaccine Help Prevent Mesothelioma?
| |

Could an Inhaled Vaccine Help Prevent Mesothelioma?

ByAlex Strauss

Research at MIT suggests that an inhaled vaccine may trigger a strong immune response against infections and even cancer in the lungs. The findings could be good news for people at risk for the rare lung-related cancer, pleural mesothelioma.  Lung infections often start on mucosal membranes. So researchers developed a vaccine that binds to a protein in mucus. When they immunized mice in a way that mimics an inhaled vaccine, their lungs produced many T-cells. T-cells are immune system cells that can help fight infections and cancer.  Pleural mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. Right now, there is no way to vaccinate against it and no cure. If an inhaled vaccine could bring more T-cells to the lungs of…

Immunotherapy Vaccine for Mesothelioma Shows Promise in Combination Treatment
| | | |

Immunotherapy Vaccine for Mesothelioma Shows Promise in Combination Treatment

ByAlex Strauss

A bacteria-based immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma may improve the odds of surviving the disease by boosting the effects of chemotherapy.  That is the word from the latest clinical trial of CRS-207 headed by researchers at the National Cancer Institute. Thirty-five inoperable patients received the immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma along with standard mesothelioma chemotherapy. Eighty-nine percent of them experienced either a full or partial response to the treatment combination.  CRS-207 Immunotherapy Vaccine for Mesothelioma CRS-207 is based on a modified version of Listeria monocytogenes. The bacterium is best known for causing the food borne illness Listeriosis. In CRS-207, the bacteria has been changed so it cannot make patients sick. The immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma uses the bacteria to trigger a powerful…

Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma May Work Better with TroVax
| | | | | | |

Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma May Work Better with TroVax

ByAlex Strauss

UK researchers say a cancer vaccine called Trovax has the potential to boost the power of chemotherapy for mesothelioma. Chemotherapy is the main treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lung lining caused by asbestos exposure. It is very hard to treat. Even people who have chemotherapy for mesothelioma do not usually live more than two years after diagnosis. Mesothelioma researchers are always looking for ways to improve chemotherapy for mesothelioma. It is often combined with other treatments like surgery, radiation or immunotherapy. Now, scientists think adding TroVax to mesothelioma chemotherapy may be another good option. What is the TroVax Cancer Vaccine? The TroVax cancer vaccine is made by UK-based Oxford BioMedica. It contains an altered…

Promising Early Results from Mesothelioma Vaccine Trial
| | | | | | | |

Promising Early Results from Mesothelioma Vaccine Trial

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers studying a new immunotherapy vaccine for mesothelioma have released early findings from an ongoing clinical trial and the results are promising. CRS-207 is based on a genetically modified version of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium normally associated with the food borne illness, Listeriosis. The drug was designed to induce a powerful immune response against cells that produce mesothelin, which includes mesothelioma and several other kinds of cancer. In a presentation at the 40th European Society for Medical Oncology in September, lead investigator Raffit Hassan, MD, of the National Cancer Institute said CRS-207 appears to be improving the odds of surviving mesothelioma in inoperable patients. “The data in this trial continue to be impressive in the front-line treatment of mesothelioma,” said…

Immune-Stimulating Vaccine “Cures” Mesothelioma in Mice

Immune-Stimulating Vaccine “Cures” Mesothelioma in Mice

ByAlex Strauss

Researchers from Hong Kong claim to have found a way eradicate mesothelioma in mice using a DNA vaccine. Microbiologists at the University of Hong Kong have even gone so far as to use the word “cure” in their recently-published paper in the journal Cancer Research. Like other types of cancer, asbestos-induced mesothelioma spreads, in part, by suppressing the body’s natural anti-cancer defenses. The Hong Kong team administered a vaccine based on PD-1, a protein known as “programmed cell death protein 1”, to effectively reprogram the DNA of the lab mice, turning those natural defenses back on. According to the report, the PD-1-based DNA vaccine conferred “complete and long-lasting protection” against “lethal mesothelioma challenge” in the mice. But the advantages did…