Researchers from Türkiye believe that biomarkers in the blood can help determine if patients are responding well to their treatment. Biomarkers are molecules that can let doctors know what is happening in the body. Even a small number of biomarkers could potentially help point doctors to progress being made in a patient. The researchers were trying to find out if a small number of biomarkers or a large number of biomarkers can tell doctors about the health of a patient.
Blood from 64 mesothelioma patients was tested. The patients were all treated with chemotherapy. Blood was taken both before treatment and after treatment to then be compared. Researchers found that biomarkers changed after treatment if the patient responded well to chemotherapy. The biomarkers in question were mesothelin, midkine, and HMGB1. The information gathered could one day help doctors monitor patients with less invasive methods compared to what they have to use today.
Mesothelioma is a very rare and aggressive cancer mainly caused by asbestos. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral used for its heat and fire-resistant abilities. There are six types of asbestos, all of which are dangerous. When asbestos is disturbed, millions of microscopic fibers are released into the air where they are then either inhaled or ingested. The sharp fibers become lodged in human tissue where they can then turn normal cells into cancer cells. They do this by causing inflammation and DNA changes. The fibers can easily become lodged in different mesothelial tissue including the pleura, which covers the lungs, and the peritoneum, which covers the abdomen.
Clinical trials like this one are important parts of the cancer treatment process. When there are cancers with no cure like mesothelioma, new treatments need to be developed to hopefully one day find a treatment that is suitable for the cancer. Without research, we would not have the treatments that are available today to treat mesothelioma and other hard to treat cancers. Some cancers, which were once deadly, are now very treatable thanks to cancer research. Hopefully one day new research will find a cure for mesothelioma, but until then, mesothelioma patients will have only a limited number of options available to them.
