New Mesothelioma Drug Discovered in Sea Squirt Toxin

A unique drug derived from the Caribbean sea squirt shows impressive effectiveness in stopping the growth of mesothelioma tumor cells. Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria discovered that trabectedin, a toxin the coral-like animal uses against predators, might soon be applied in the treatment of mesothelioma. “It has looked very promising to this point,” Walter Berger, group leader at the Institute of Cancer Research, University of Vienna, told Asbestos.com. “It’s a fascinating new substance — from its origins to its mode of action.” A European pharmaceutical company has been harvesting the bottom-dwelling marine organism and extracting the toxin to produces the potentially life-extending drug. The Molecular Cancer Therapeutics journal published the study earlier this month. Berger’s team, which includes thoracic surgeon Dr. Alireza Hoda, focuses on the development of novel strategies for therapy-refractory cancers such as mesothelioma, brain tumors and lung cancer. In the recent study involving mesothelioma, trabectedin served as an effective chemotherapy-like agent that targeted DNA and delivered an immune response. It also showed great synergy when combined with cisplatin, the current standard-of-care chemotherapy. “We found excellent activity, compared to many drugs that have been tried,” Berger said. “Mesothelioma, as you know, is very difficult to treat. This was encouraging.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: mesothelioma treatment sea squirt cancer treatment sea squirt trabectedin toxin sea toxin for cancer trabectedin for mesothelioma Source Type: news