New Skin Cancer-Fighting Drug Keytruda Boosts Mesothelioma Survival

Help could be on the way for future mesothelioma patients who need it the most. Researchers in Spain are the first to successfully identify a specific protein found only in mesothelioma patients with the shortest survival times. The findings should provide a clearer target for potential therapy advances, giving those cancer patients more of a fighting chance. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year granted accelerated approval for the drug pembrolizumab, known by its brand name Keytruda, which is designed to target skin cancers. However, the drug also targets proteins in other cancers. Results Are Promising "The results of our study could offer new treatment options to this population of [mesothelioma] patients," wrote study author, Dr. Susana Cedrés, of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain. Cedrés presented the findings at the European Society of Medical Oncology Conference in September. Researchers found the protein called PD-L1 in the tissue samples of 20 percent of the malignant mesothelioma patients in their recent study. Those with the highest levels of PD-L1 had the shortest survival of the 119 patients studied between 2002 and 2014. Patients with the highest levels of PD-L1 had a median survival of just 4.79 months. The patients who tested negative for PD-L1 had a median survival of 16.3 months. Keytruda Successful on Other Cancers PD-L1, which works alongside another protein called PD-1, has been the target of researchers l...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Research & Clinical Trials Source Type: news