New Mesothelioma Clinical Trial for Pleural, Peritoneal Patients

Pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma patients are eligible for a new clinical trial that combines the latest antibody-drug conjugate with standard-of-care chemotherapy at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. The drug, anetumab ravtansine (BAY 94-9343), is the highly touted conjugate that mixes immunotherapy with cytotoxic therapy and targets mesothelin, the tumor surface protein found in 85-90 percent of mesothelioma cancer patients. The Ochsner trial, which is currently recruiting participants, is the first time researchers will administer anetumab ravtansine in a first-line setting for mesothelioma. “It’s exciting, especially when you realize these patients don’t have much in the way of other options,” Ochsner oncologist Dr. Robert Ramirez told Asbestos.com. “What we’re trying to do is make standard of care better.” The University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Hollings Cancer Center at the University of South Carolina in Charleston, and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, also are involved in the trial, which is expected to last a year. “The best-case scenario is that it keeps this cancer from growing for a long time,” Ramirez said. “But in reality, with any patient you can’t cure, the goal is to improve or at least maintain the quality of life for as long as possible, and hopefully, that translates into living longer. If this drug helps us get there, it’s a good thin...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: anetumab ravtansine mesothelioma chemotherapy mesothelioma clinical trial new mesothelioma treatment ochsner clinical trial Source Type: news