Recent News
Concurrent Pemetrexed/Cisplatin With Pleural Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy for Patients With Unresectable Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of combining chemotherapy at different doses with a specific type of radiation therapy delivered to the entire lining of the lung to find out what effects, if any, it has on people. This radiation technique is called pleural intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). IMRT specifically targets the lining of the lung (pleura) where the cancer is and reduces the risk of damaging the lung itself. When given after chemotherapy, pleural IMRT has demonstrated promising results with respect to keeping mesothelioma under control longer. However, the investigators want to determine if giving pleural IMRT at the same time as chemotherapy is safe. If safe, further studies will be done to see if chemotherapy and pleural IMRT given at the same time keeps the tumor under control for a longer period of time than chemotherapy followed by pleural IMRT.
Asbestos Exposure – Can We Really Control It?
Asbestos is typically thought of as a substance that is no longer in use anymore because it is a well-known carcinogen. Asbestos is fire resistant, strong, cheap, abundant, and absorbs…
Asbestos Products Produced Today in the United States
Asbestos is fire resistant, absorbs sound, strong, abundant, and cheap, so naturally it was a popular building material in the United States and throughout the world in the 20th century.…
Genetically Modified T Cells in Treating Patients With Stage III-IV Non-small Cell Lung Cancer or Mesothelioma
Purpose: This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of genetically modified T cells in treating patients with stage III-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or mesothelioma. Many types of cancer cells, including NSCLC and mesothelioma, but not most normal cells, have a protein called Wilms tumor (WT)1 on their surfaces. This study takes a type of immune cell from patients, called T cells, and modifies their genes in the laboratory so that they are programmed to find cells with WT1 and kill them. The T cells are then given back to the patient. Cyclophosphamide and aldesleukin may also stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells. Giving cyclophosphamide and aldesleukin with laboratory-treated T cells may help the body build an immune response to kill tumor cells.
Study of the EZH2 Inhibitor Tazemetostat in Malignant Mesothelioma
Purpose: This is a Phase 2, multicenter, open-label, 2-part, single-arm, 2-stage study of tazemetostat 800 mg two times a day (BID) administered orally. Screening of subjects to determine eligibility for the study will be performed within 21 days of the first planned dose of tazemetostat.
In Part 1, 12 subjects with relapsed or refractory malignant mesothelioma regardless of BAP1 status will be treated and undergo pharmacokinetics (PK) blood sample collection after a single tazemetostat 800 mg.
Part 2 will include subjects with BAP1-deficient relapsed or refractory malignant mesothelioma.
Treatment with tazemetostat will continue until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal of consent, or termination of the study. Response assessment will be evaluated after 6 weeks of treatment and then every 12 weeks thereafter while on study.
Mesothelioma Awareness Day 2016
September 26, 2016, was Mesothelioma Awareness Day. This day dedicated to raising awareness for mesothelioma, was established in 2004 by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF). MARF is a nonprofit…
Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy “SMART” for Resectable Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether radiation therapy decreases tumor size and tumor spread. The investigators will consent subjects that have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and will undergo radiation therapy followed by surgical resection as their standard of care. The investigators will collect data from past and future medical records as well as data regarding their health status for their lifetime by reviewing life status, treatment status and CT scans.
Nintedanib in Treating Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma That Is Recurrent
Purpose: This phase II trial studies how well nintedanib works in treating patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma that has come back. Nintedanib may stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes needed for cell growth.
Groundbreaking Clinical Trial for Mesothelioma Patients
The researchers and scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine Mesothelioma Treatment Center at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center excitedly announced a new clinical trial that combines immunotherapy and surgery…
Pleurectomy/Decortication Followed By Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy to the Pleura in Patients With Locally Advanced Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Purpose: For patients with this type of cancer, the standard of care is treatment with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is typically not used. This is because radiation to the entire lining of the lung has many side effects that are often severe including damage to the lung (pneumonitis). There is a new radiation technique using Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) that has been shown to reduce many of the side effects of standard radiation therapy. This type of radiation therapy specifically targets the lining of the lung, where you have your cancer, and reduces the risk of damaging the lung itself. The purpose of this study is to test the safety and implementation of standard pleurectomy/decortication (removal of the surface lining of the lung) performed at other centers. Patients will undergo pleurectomy/decortication followed by chemotherapy then hemithoracic pleural IMRT to the pleura in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
