Results from a clinical trial being performed on malignant pleural mesothelioma patients will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting being held in Chicago, Illinois. Results will be posted by internationally known mesothelioma expert Dr. Luciano Mutti of the department of Applied Clinical Sciences and Biotechnology at the University of L’Aquila in Italy.
The study used laboratory animals infected with mesothelioma. It found that PORT-7 demonstrated superior single-agent activity compared to Keytruda and Opdivo. When the treatment was combined with Keytruda and Opdivo, the results were even better. The combination of the two types of blockers created special immune structures in the mesothelioma tumors, increasing the amount of immune cells to fight the cancer. The next step is to begin human mesothelioma trials.
In addition to the PORT-7 mesothelioma trials, the manufacturer is testing a similar treatment called PORT-6. This treatment blocks a different but related receptor. The company plans on using both treatments combined in patients, which has never been done before. The hope is that by blocking both pathways at once, they can completely prevent mesothelioma cells from using adenosine, which is a molecule used to suppress the immune system, to hide from immune attacks. The combined approach could help more patients benefit from immunotherapy treatments with a wide range of tumors, including mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma treatment has come a long way over the years, but there is still a long way to go because many people are still dying from the cancer. Mesothelioma is a tough cancer to treat, but there is still hope in the form of clinical trials. The clinical trial mentioned above can hopefully one day be combined with other treatments like Opdivo and chemotherapy or a wide range of other treatments not even developed yet to fight mesothelioma and other cancers that are hard to treat.
We need clinical trials now more than ever. There are so many types of cancer including mesothelioma that are killing people needlessly. People with hard to treat cancers like mesothelioma deserve a second chance. Mesothelioma is a hard diagnosis to receive, but it shouldn’t have to be. With clinical trials, there is hope for patients diagnosed with mesothelioma to live longer, better lives.
