High doses of hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) help pleural mesothelioma patients. A recent study found that when HITHOC is administered at a high dose, survival rates improve and periods of being disease free increase. HITHOC is the use of chemotherapy during surgery and is an experimental treatment for different types[…]
Overall Survival
Two Cytoreductive Surgeries Can Improve Survival for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients
If peritoneal mesothelioma patients undergo a second surgery after recurrence, they can improve their survival. Data from a retrospective review from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center shows that cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) can be incredibly helpful for peritoneal disease sufferers. For some people, a second surgery has[…]
Checkmate 743 Shows Immunotherapy is Better for Mesothelioma Patients Who Cannot Receive Surgery
A clinical trial called Checkmate 743, which looks at the immunotherapy drugs nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy), shows that the combination can create a better quality of life when compared with the chemotherapy drugs pemetrexed, cisplatin, and carboplatin. Patient reported outcomes were recently reported. People who took Opdivo and Yervoy[…]
Platelet Count Can Potentially Influence Mesothelioma Survival
Mesothelioma is a hard-to-treat cancer. Usually chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy are used, but they do not do enough to save people’s lives. Scientists may have figured out why this is the case and could potentially have found the main causes that affect survival. These include stage of the tumor,[…]
A Cancer Vaccine Could Potentially Help Mesothelioma Patients
Researchers are looking at a vaccine to maintain patient health after cancer treatment, which could be effective for mesothelioma in the future. The vaccine is specifically made for each patient based on the individual’s biology. The trial is currently being tested on head and neck cancer. It does not usually[…]
OT-101 Useful for COVID-19 and Cancers Like Mesothelioma
Researchers are looking at a new treatment for mesothelioma. It is a multimodal treatment (multiple treatments combined) consisting of the immunotherapy drug Keytruda and a new drug called OT-101. OT-101 is an antisense drug, which is a drug that blocks molecules that make certain proteins. The drug is also effective[…]
Prehab and Rehab for Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly cancer of the mesothelium, which is a membrane that surrounds multiple organs including the lungs and abdomen. The best thing for patients after a mesothelioma diagnosis is treatment in the form of chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, or multiple treatments together. This can be mentally and[…]
A Gene Therapy Could Improve Survival for Mesothelioma
Results from a new study involving a genetic therapy for pleural mesothelioma have been submitted at the University of Leicester. Researchers at the United Kingdom university designed a treatment to match specific genetic profiles to individual patients. There are promising results from the study, which had patients who received first[…]
Tremelimumab and Durvalumab Combination Can Improve Mesothelioma Survival
Studies show that durvalumab and tremelimumab work very well together while treating mesothelioma. A phase I clinical trial was performed at the Baylor College of Medicine in conjunction with Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. Durvalumab is an immunotherapy drug known as a PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor. It works by blocking the[…]
Researchers are Studying the Mesothelioma Tumor Microenvironment
A new study is showing how the tumor microenvironment helps mesothelioma progress and survive in the body. Mesothelioma tumors create a complex microenvironment surrounding themselves. The microenvironment is simply the area surrounding the tumors. The new study shows that the microenvironment that mesothelioma tumors create assists cancer initiation and progression.[…]
