From the blog

Why is Chemotherapy Often Ineffective in Those Suffering from Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a difficult cancer to treat for a multitude of reasons. A mesothelioma diagnosis is rare – only about 3,000 people per year in the United States are diagnosed – and this can make it difficult to study, given that there is generally a very small sample of patients[…]

Read More »

Association Between Proton Pump Inhibitors and Hematologic Toxicity of Pemetrexed (IPPEM)

Pemetrexed is a multi-folate inhibitor approved in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pleural mesothelioma. Its toxicity profile is mainly hematologic (anemia, neutropenia and thrombopenia) and can be limiting when > grade 2 according to NCI-CTCAE criteria. First clinical trials highlighted hematologic toxicity, especially anemia, which was reduced by decreasing pemetrexed dosage from 600 to 500 mg/m² Q3W and by adding systematic vitamin supplementation (B9/B12). Despite this, incidence of hematological toxicity remains frequent with anemia occurring in more than 20% of patients treated by pemetrexed in combination. The investigators aim to investigate the potential association between PPIs and pemetrexed combination and the incidence of hematological toxicity in a multicenter and prospective study.

Read More »

Nintedanib May Surpass Bevacizumab as a More Effective Chemotherapy Treatment for Mesothelioma

In 2016, scientists and researchers were excited to begin Phase II of the clinical trial involving treating patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma with Nintedanib, a triple angiokinase inhibitor designed to hinder protein kinases in cancer cells and stop cancer cells from growing their own blood vessels. The LUME-Meso Phase II[…]

Read More »

EPA Proposes New Rules For Asbestos; Anti-Asbestos Advocates Concerned

In June 2016, former President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act as an amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and since then, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been moving forward in naming asbestos – as well as nine other chemicals[…]

Read More »

Updated Modified RECIST to Better Evaluate Treatment Response in Mesothelioma

The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) was established nearly two decades ago by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the National Cancer Institute of the United States. The purpose of these published rules was to universally define when cancerous tumors stabilize, progress, or just[…]

Read More »

Olaparib in People With Malignant Mesothelioma

Purpose: The drug olaparib may stop cancer cells from fixing damage to their DNA. It has been approved to treat certain cancers in people that were born with a mutation in the BRCA gene. It has not been approved for treating mesothelioma. But some people with mesothelioma have mutations in a gene, BAP1 related to BRCA. Researchers want to see if olaparib can work in patients with mutations in this gene. They also want to see if works on mutations in other genes or patients without any mutations. They want to see if olaparib causes mesothelioma tumors to shrink.

Read More »

Skip to content