New Clinical Trial Shows Promise for Life-Extending Mesothelioma Drug

Dr. Michele Maio at the University Hospital of Siena in Italy doesn't need to wait for results of the ongoing, multicenter, worldwide clinical trial involving the latest immunotherapy drug for malignant mesothelioma. He already is a believer. Maio and his colleagues in the oncology department recently published results of their smaller, one-center study detailing the effectiveness of tremelimumab, a drug that helps the body's own immune system to destroy mesothelioma cells without harming healthy ones. Tremelimumab, which is given intravenously, essentially unmasks the tumor cells and unleashes the immune system to do its work. "The goal is to improve the percentage of patients who become long-term survivors," Maio told Asbestos.com. "Tremelimumab moves us in that direction. Our hope is that what we observed in our trial here will be confirmed by this larger study." Intensified Treatment Regimen Maio worked closely with lead researcher Dr. Luana Calabro, M.D., and several others before publishing the findings in Respiratory Medicine. They enrolled 29 previously treated mesothelioma patients between July 30, 2012 and July 15, 2013. The patients were given 10 mg/kg once every four weeks for six months, then every 12 weeks or until disease progression. Previous studies, which showed less impressive results, included 15 mg/kg every 90 days. The intensified scheduling proved to be just as safe, but elicited a much better response. More than half of the patients achieved disease c...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Research & Clinical Trials Source Type: news