A study at the Duke University Medical Center has found that radiation does not extend survival in pleural mesothelioma patients. A dual registry analysis was performed to determine the effectiveness of aggressive surgery and radiation. Adjuvant radiation is recommended as a treatment by many cancer centers including the U.S. National[…]
New Study
Researchers are Trying to Find New Treatments to Combine with Tumor Treating Fields
Tumor Treating Fields were approved for treating mesothelioma, and while they are effective, researchers want to make them more effective for the cancer. A researcher at the Humanitas University in Milan is studying different drug combinations to use with Tumor Treating Fields. The goal is to find a drug that[…]
CAR-T Cell Therapy and Keytruda is Showing Real Promise
Researchers at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are experimenting with a combination of CAR-T cell therapy and Keytruda, a PD-1 blocker for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. This is the first time that these two therapies have been combined. The results were recently published in Cancer Discovery. Mesothelioma is[…]
Immunotherapy Treatment for Mesothelioma Could Become Safer and More Effective
Research could help create better and safer immunotherapy treatments for mesothelioma. Immunotherapy is a fast growing and exciting way to treat cancer because it uses the body’s own immune system to treat cancer instead of harmful drugs like chemotherapy. Immunotherapy can be way more effective than typical treatments, but it[…]
GPS Vaccine is Effective in Mesothelioma Patients When Paired with Opdivo
A new cancer vaccine was found to be effective in mesothelioma patients alongside Opdivo in a new study. It was studied in people whose cancer no longer responded to standard chemotherapy. The phase I clinical trial took place at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and it involved the galinpepimut-S[…]
Vinorelbine Could Soon be Used to Treat Mesothelioma
Vinorelbine could be a useful second-line treatment for patients with relapsed mesothelioma. A phase II clinical trial examined vinorelbine to see how effective it is in patients who had their pleural mesothelioma progress after platinum chemotherapy treatment. Doctors believe vinorelbine could be another option for patients instead of the standard[…]
Pleural Effusion in Mesothelioma Patients May Affect Survival
Pleural effusion may affect mesothelioma survival. Pleural effusion is a buildup of fluid around the lungs that can be caused by multiple illnesses including heart failure, kidney and liver disease, pleural mesothelioma, and other cancers. The only way to treat this condition is to drain the fluid, which makes it[…]
Adjuvant Radiotherapy Does Not Improve Survival in Pleural Mesothelioma Patients
Adjuvant radiotherapy might not be the best treatment for mesothelioma sufferers because researchers at Duke and Stanford found that this therapy does not help patients live longer. The researchers analyzed a database of pleural mesothelioma patients at Duke and a national registry of patients. The research looked at the outcomes[…]
Doctors Should Use Pleurectomy Decortication Surgery Over Extrapleural Pneumonectomy Surgery
A study looking at many patients with pleural mesothelioma found that there is not enough of a survival advantage to support the use of extrapleural pneumonectomy surgery (EPP). The study was done at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. EPP is the most aggressive surgery for[…]
Mesothelioma Patients with High Levels of the PD-L1 Protein Have Shorter Survival
Unfortunately for mesothelioma patients with high levels of the PD-L1 protein, they have a worse overall survival compared to patients who have lower levels. A European study looking at 200 patients wanted to see if PD-L1 and PD-1, popular targets for immunotherapy drugs, impact survival independently without immunotherapy drugs present.[…]
