Pleural Mesothelioma
A new biomarker has been found for the diagnosis of mesothelioma by scientists in Japan. Information from this research could revolutionize how mesothelioma is diagnosed and treated in the future. Mesothelioma is a hard cancer to diagnose because it shares symptoms with other cancers. Cancers it can look like include squamous cell lung carcinoma and…
Results from a phase 3 clinical trial were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showing that a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for mesothelioma improves patients’ survival more than chemotherapy alone. Researchers combined Keytruda, or pembrolizumab, with platinum and pemetrexed chemotherapy. The overall response rate for patients receiving chemotherapy and Keytruda was 63…
Extended pleurectomy decortication surgery combined with chemotherapy is associated with worse outcomes compared to just chemotherapy alone. Researchers looked at extended pleurectomy and decortication surgery alongside chemotherapy and found that there are worse survival outcomes, a higher chance of serious adverse events, and a diminished quality of life compared to just giving patients platinum and…
There is a new treatment involving PARP inhibitors that could potentially benefit mesothelioma patients. PARP stands for Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. PARP is typically involved in repairing damaged DNA in cells. It can be useful against side effects from chemotherapy by repairing damaged tumor cells, which helps tumors to continue growing. The goal would be to…
Primary Outcome Measures Objective Response Rate (ORR) defined as the percentage of participants who achieve a best overall response of complete response or partial response assessed according to mRECIST v1.1 for assessment of response in malignant pleural mesothelioma. Up to 36 months Secondary Outcome Measures Progression Free Survival (PFS) defined as the time between the…
The combination of galinpepimut-S and nivolumab is showing promising results for mesothelioma. The study looked at patients who were refractory or relapsed after at least one standard treatment. The combination met safety and efficacy standards for treatment, leading to a completed phase one trial. The median overall survival, which was measured as the time of…
Researchers are trying to find out if increasing the dose of radiation can improve survival in mesothelioma patients. Radiation is typically seen as a secondary treatment after the combination of chemotherapy, surgery, and immunotherapy. Some doctors do not believe it is a valid treatment for mesothelioma patients because it can impact their quality of life.…
The mix of chemotherapy and pembrolizumab extended survival in patients with pleural mesothelioma. It was given as a first line treatment to adults with the cancer. Data shows that pembrolizumab and chemotherapy reduced death by 21 percent compared to chemotherapy alone. Doctors like the combination of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy because it is already used effectively…
Canada is creating new rules for asbestos abatement. The government in British Columbia is going to require that companies that perform asbestos abatement have licenses issued by the government for them to operate. The Canadian workers’ compensation statutory agency WorkSafeBC is creating the requirements for companies to be fully licensed to safely remove asbestos. Asbestos…
Mesothelioma could soon be diagnosed by blood test. Researchers in China have found a new method to analyze blood samples of people with mesothelioma. The researchers used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The hope was that the researchers would find biomarkers in the blood of mesothelioma patients that could help with diagnosis of the cancer. Mesothelioma…
