Radiation Could Make Mesothelioma Immunotherapy More Effective

Doctors at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto are studying the use of hypofractionated radiation to increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy for patients with mesothelioma. They are expected to launch soon a clinical trial that will add an immunotherapy combination to the high-dose radiation and aggressive surgery mix that has been so successful in Toronto. “There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered, but if I was a betting man, I’d lay odds on it [working well],” Dr. John Cho of the cancer center’s clinical research unit, told The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. “It’s all very promising.” Cho has been working closely with thoracic surgeon and mesothelioma specialist Dr. Marc de Perrot at Toronto General Hospital. Perrot was the lead author of an editorial published recently by the Journal of Thoracic Disease, suggesting the radiation and immunotherapy combination could become standard of care for pleural mesothelioma patients. “Our group demonstrated that non-ablative, hypofractionated radiation can also have a major impact on the immune system in mesothelioma,” Perrot wrote. “Hence, the combination of non-ablative hypofractionated radiation with targeted immunotherapy is a promising strategy for the near future in mesothelioma.” SMART Evolves into SMARTER The research team in Toronto is continuing to build on its unconventional Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy (SMART) approach that has achieved unpre...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news