Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Should Prove Worth of Photodynamic Therapy

Eli Glatstein, M.D., has touted the benefits of photodynamic therapy for decades, but not everyone was listening. Maybe now they will. Glatstein, vice chairman of the radiation oncology department at Penn Medicine, leads the first randomized clinical trial of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for pleural mesothelioma cancer and aims to prove its effectiveness. "If the results confirm what we expect, this could be a very positive, significant step forward for treatment of this disease," Glatstein told Asbestos.com. "If it doesn't work like we think it will, there's a lot of egg on our face." Glatstein was instrumental in landing a recent $8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that will fund a clinical trial to study the effects of PDT and Photofrin, the photo-sensitizing drug most often used with the procedure. Researchers also will use the grant to explore the effects of PDT on the immune system, blood vessels surrounding the tumor and tumor cells. The Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y. will collaborate in the study. Penn Medicine Longtime Leader The Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine is one of the few mesothelioma specialty centers that has used PDT for years as an adjuvant therapy with radical pleurectomy surgery and achieved impressive results. "Our survival rates are considerably better than most other people report [in other studies]," Glatstein said. "But there are a lot of people who still don't believe in PDT. They didn't learn much abou...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Research & Clinical Trials Source Type: news