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[…]
Overall Survival
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.[…]
Different Levels of Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery can Save Mesothelioma Patients’ Lives
Italian researchers believe that lung sparing surgery can improve survival in mesothelioma patients, even when surgeries are more conservative. Pleurectomy and decortication is the surgery that spares the lungs. It is less comprehensive than the surgery that removes the lungs, which also makes it less dangerous to patients. Doctors at[…]
GPX-1 Could be used as a Biomarker for Mesothelioma
An enzyme that helps clean up the byproducts of cellular oxidation could potentially be a biomarker for pleural mesothelioma. People with very small amounts of the enzyme were found to survive longer than people who have higher levels of the enzyme. The enzyme is Glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPX-1). It can be[…]
Follow Up Care for Mesothelioma
Follow-up care is crucial for treating mesothelioma patients. A study out of the United Kingdom found that when patients receive follow-up care, more input from their caregivers, continuity, and more timely information was necessary. The study involved three National Health Service facilities in England. Two of the centers were secondary[…]
Patients with Mesothelioma Don’t Always Have Access to the Best Care
Unfortunately, there is a lack of equality when it comes to treating mesothelioma patients because access to care can be very inconsistent. Patients might not have access to a high-volume academic hospital that treats mesothelioma patients, so they are not receiving the proper care that some people might receive. Patients[…]
Ramucirumab and Gemcitabine are Showing Promising Results as a Second Line Treatment for Pleural Mesothelioma
Combining the drug ramucirumab with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine is showing to be a successful second line treatment for pleural mesothelioma. Ramucirumab is a type of immunotherapy drug called a monoclonal antibody, which targets and restricts proteins that stimulate blood vessel growth in tumors. The Lancet Oncology published the results[…]
Mesothelioma Patient Health Improves a Year After Surgery
It could take time for mesothelioma patients to have better lung function after pleural mesothelioma surgery since some patients have better lung function a year after surgery compared to the days and weeks after the operation. Researchers in Japan published their findings in Integrative Cancer Therapies. There were 24 male[…]
Tremelimumab and Durvalumab are a Good Second Line Treatment for Mesothelioma
Two immunotherapy drugs, tremelimumab and durvalumab, are showing to be a successful second line treatment for pleural mesothelioma when combined. This could mean that more treatments will be approved for the treatment of mesothelioma. The results of this phase II clinical trial were published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine from[…]
HITHOC After Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery Can Improve Survival
There are some good results coming from a German study looking at Pleurectomy and Decortication surgery (P/D) being combined with HITHOC. Pleurectomy surgery is surgery that removes mesothelioma tumors but leaves the lung intact while HITHOC is a method of adding heated chemotherapy to the pleural area, sparing the rest[…]
