Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
The Potential of Nanoparticles in Treatment of Mesothelioma Patients
In May, Mesothelioma Help reported that researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center found a “promising new nanotechnology-based delivery method” for immunotherapy using nanoparticles. Now, another team of researchers report they have found a way to use this microscopic drug delivery system “for diagnostics, therapy, or both” for cancer care.
In the latest research from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), a team of biophysicists report they engineered a way to cover nanoparticles with biological molecules that allows them to deliver therapy and then examine the effect the drug has on the cancer cells. The particles, for example, can carry properties that can home in on the cancer cells to pinpoint the therapy as well as fluorescent properties to light up the cancer cells for diagnostics.
Using theranostics, the integration of therapeutics and diagnostics, in mesothelioma care is an exciting prospect. Most of the treatments used for mesothelioma, a terminal asbestos-caused cancer, eventually become ineffective, but it may not be discovered until the mesothelioma cancer is no longer treatable. With diagnostic capabilities embedded in the nanoparticles, the effectiveness of the treatment can be monitored as needed.
The researchers developed a “molecular glue” using the barnase-barstar protein pair to hold the therapeutic and diagnostic components together. The success of this research is due to this glue that can bind up to one million times greater than other types, and can bind with antibodies, drugs, fluorescent molecules and targeting agents. When the two proteins are tightly bound they form “a bifunctional compound” with both therapeutic and diagnostic properties, that enables targeted drug delivery.
This type of personalized medicine follows the concept that the cancer’s genetic makeup can be used to tailor a patient’s treatment. Mesothelioma can grow at a different rate and respond to different treatments in each patient, that is why mesothelioma patients need treatment that is aimed at their unique characteristics. By allowing the therapeutic aspect of the nanoparticles to be modified, this personalized care optimizes the potential for success of the treatment.
“The demonstrated capabilities show this method to be a promising alternative to commonly used … techniques in nanobiotechnology, theranostics, and clinical applications,” wrote the authors in the study published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer typically affecting the lining of the lungs, is highly aggressive and is resistant to many cancer treatments making it a difficult disease to treat effectively. The prognosis for mesothelioma patients is usually grim: the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis. Approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.
The paper was published in the April 27 issue of the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Unplug and Just “Be” With Your Loved Ones
Let’s face it, we all do it. We’re sitting with a friend or family member, and we half-listen to what they’re saying because we’re looking at our phone or other device. Unfortunately, this has become our “new normal.” We rely so much on technology that we sometimes start to “unplug” our real relationships. Phone calls replace visits, text messages replace phone calls… what’s next?
When my Dad was first diagnosed with mesothelioma, I didn’t even have a smart phone. To log on to social media, I had to sit down at a computer. This, in terms of technology, feels like it was such a simpler time. By the time Dad was in the hospital for the final time, I had just gotten my first iPad. I remember sitting in the hospital with him while he slept, using it to play a game. I was very in tune to the fact that Dad needed me, and that he needed me to be truly present with him, so I was actually quite good about putting my device down when he was awake. I knew it was important for both of us.
Please try to remember that people, not technology, need you. When someone you care about is with you, no matter their physical condition, do your best to unplug. Make real memories; they are what will be with you for the long haul. No amount of “likes” can take the place of having a real moment with your loved one. I would give up my phone, computer, everything… if I had the chance to make one more memory with my Dad.
Keep this in mind as you are moving forward. No amount of technology, no matter how life-like it may seem, can replace the company of your loved ones!
Two-Drug Combination Found Effective in Lung Cancer May Increase Survival in Mesothelioma Patients
It has been over two years since Mesothelioma Help reported on the start of a clinical trial that used a combination of immunotherapy drugs to treat lung cancer. The trial was designed to determine whether the two drugs would work better than one in the treatment of cancer patients. Now, researchers say early results of the trial show the pair of drugs are “surprisingly effective” at controlling the progression of lung cancer.
Immunologist John Wrangle, M.D. and his colleague Mark Rubinstein, Ph.D., both from the Hollins Cancer Center at The Medical College of South Carolina (MUSC), are so excited with the results that they are “flirting with the idea” of using the word “cure” on some of the non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with the novel therapy, according to an April 5 press release.
“People don’t talk about ‘curing’ patients with metastatic lung cancer,” said Wrangle. “We now get to flirt with the idea for certain patients using immunotherapy. And at the very least we have a significant proportion of patients enjoying prolonged survival even if we can’t call them ‘cured’.”
The researchers report that nearly every lung cancer patient will relapse after chemotherapy, and with the advent of immunotherapy, some of them will turn to it as their next mode of treatment. But still, they say, less than 20 percent of NSCLC patients will respond to immunotherapy, and it too will eventually stop working. Pleural mesothelioma is an equally stubborn cancer and treatment for the asbestos-caused cancer is very similar to NSCLC treatments. Mesothelioma patients are anxious to find a new treatment that will increase their survival beyond the typical prognosis of less than one year.
Hoping to break that poor response record, the two researchers turned to nivolumab (Opdivo), an FDA-approved immunotherapy, and ALT-803, an experimental immuno-oncology treatment. In the initial test of 21 patients, nine previously had either become resistant to their previous treatment or had stable disease at the time of the trial. Looking specifically at those nine patients, the researchers report that “100 percent either had stable disease or had a partial response to the treatment used in this study.”
Opdivo, developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, works by blocking the PD-L1 protein and activating the immune system, leading it to attack and kill cancer cells. ALT-803, being developed by Altor BioScience Corporation, is an immune stimulation drug.
“There are very few people in human history who get the privilege of developing a new therapy for any human disease, much less cancer,” said Wrangle. “That’s such an amazing privilege to be able to do that.”
The two admit there is still a long way to go “before the new combination of drugs can be used outside of a clinical trial.” They hope to treat hundreds of patients in a trial to better understand the proper mix of the drugs.
Ongoing research into lung cancer, mesothelioma and other aggressive cancers is vital to continue to break ground in treatments previously not considered. Mesothelioma patients should continue to work with their medical team to assess how they can participate in this critical research.
Read more about the study in the April 4 issue of The Lancet Oncology.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(18)30148-7/fulltext
For more information about the trial see ClinicalTrials.gov.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02523469
“Lung Decision Precision” Screening Tool May Lead to Early Detection of Mesothelioma
The key to increased life expectancy when battling lung cancer, and other extremely aggressive cancers such as mesothelioma, is early detection. Unfortunately, while there are standard screening tests and guidelines for breast cancer, colon, and prostate cancer, lung cancer screening tests are limited to high risk patients, defined as life-long heavy smokers. Now, researchers have developed a personalized lung cancer screening decision tool which incorporates past asbestos exposure as a criteria to guide individuals and physicians in determining their lung cancer screening options.
Researchers from the University of Michigan have unveiled a lung cancer screening Q&A tool that can be used by medical professionals to identify people who may benefit from a low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening. For people who do not have any symptoms often associated with lung cancer or pleural mesothelioma, such as difficulty breathing, coughing or fatigue, there is seemingly no reason to screen for lung cancer.
That is why the personalized Lung Decision Precision tool for physicians, which presents a series of questions targeting the person’s smoking history and asbestos exposure, is important. The tool is designed to open discussion between the physician and patient to determine whether a lung screening is appropriate.
“This allows us to identify which patients are in the preference-sensitive zone for the decision about screening, and which ones have a very clear potential benefit to them,” said Tanner Caverly, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor in the Division of General Medicine and Department of Learning Health Sciences at the U-M Medical School.
The Lung Decision Precision Tool asks the critical question: “Has the patient been exposed to asbestos at work?” Based on a “yes” answer, the patient is asked to confirm the following:
- You worked in one or more of the following occupations: asbestos worker, insulator, lagger, plasterboard worker, dry waller, plasterer, ship scaler, ship fitter, rigger, shipyard boilermaker, shipyard welder, shipyard machinist, shipyard coppersmith, shipyard electrician, plumber/pipefitter, steamfitter, or sheet metal worker.
- You worked in this job for at least 5 years.
- You began working in this job at least 15 years ago.
Asbestos is a human carcinogen, known to cause lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs diagnosed in nearly 3,000 Americans each year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns that there is no safe level of exposure. In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports, “every occupational exposure to asbestos contributes to the risk of getting an asbestos related disease.”
While no longer used in new buildings in the U.S., asbestos was added to a variety of products including insulation, steam pipes, furnace ducts, floor tiles and roofing shingles, in buildings and homes built prior to EPA regulations were put in place in the 1970’s. People who worked in construction, ship-building, plumbing and in the military are at a higher risk than others of developing mesothelioma.
The only recommended screening test for lung cancer is LDCT, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During an LDCT an X-ray machine scans the body and uses low doses of radiation to make detailed pictures of the lungs to help find abnormal areas that may be cancer. The American Cancer Society reports that in a study of 50,000 smokers or former smokers aged 55 to 74 researchers found that people who got LDCT had a 20% lower chance of dying from lung cancer than those who got chest x-rays.
Mesothelioma is often not diagnosed until symptoms are present, and the cancer is in its late stages. At this point, prognosis is often less than one-year. Stopping tumor growth and preventing metastasis is especially critical for mesothelioma and lung cancer where the diseases are highly aggressive. This can only be achieved if the mesothelioma cancer is detected early.
“As a clinician I’d like to have this [tool] for many of the things I do, where it would be meaningful to know how beneficial something could be for the individual patient, and we could talk about whether it’s indicated for them,” said Caverly.
The research team also launched a companion website, “Should I get screened”, for patients that includes easy-to-understand information about the pros and cons of lung cancer screening, and includes a “lung cancer risk calculator.”
If you have been exposed to asbestos in the past, talk to your doctor about the Lung Decision Precision tool.
Find out more about the tool in the May 29 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
Sources:
- University of Michigan
http://ihpi.umich.edu/news/scan-or-not-scan-research-shows-how-personalize-lung-cancer-screening-decisions - Annals of Internal Medicine
http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2682684/identifying-patients-whom-lung-cancer-screening-preference-sensitive-microsimulation-study - Lung Decision Precision tool
https://share.lungdecisionprecision.com/ - Should I get screened
http://www.shouldiscreen.com/ - The American Cancer Society
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/prevention-and-early-detection/early-detection.html - Occupational Safety and Health Administration
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/
Defining Your Personal Space During Your Mesothelioma Journey
Mesothelioma patients often face a busy schedule when initially diagnosed, and when they begin undergoing treatments. There are a lot of tests and consultations, and decisions to be made. There is a sense of urgency in getting treatment under way as soon as possible. During this phase of the disease, family and friends are frequently rallying around and trying to provide as much support as possible. There are other patients also offering support if needed. Support groups, friendships, and new relationships are formed.
At the end of the journey, when a person has exhausted his clinical options and has shifted to hospice or comfort care, the path is not as clear. We recently had a mesothelioma patient whose journey was at its end. During his battle with mesothelioma, he conducted extensive research and was willing to try anything. But now, he had no more options, and he decided to stay home with his wife and keep things as “normal” as possible. His sons were not living at home, and he elected to have them come home a weekend after he had made the decision to enter hospice. Over this weekend they talked, reminisced, and acknowledged that he was dying. The sons went back to their lives until the final weekend of his life. During this time his wife was caring for him.
We were surprised at the couple’s reluctance to ask for help from their large, extended family and network of friends. Up until the last weekend his wife was taking total care of him and the house.
The last weekend was a different story – they had called home their sons, and let family members in to be with them. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones.
Everyone’s journey is different, as is everyone’s response to it. We are all unique individuals, and we have the right to decide when to let people in.
Sometimes space, both physical and mental, is needed for people to process and decide how they want to move forward. To allow a person and their loved one that space is sometimes the best support you can offer.
Free Mesothelioma Patient & Treatment Guide
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It contains a wealth of information and resources to help you better understand the condition, choose (and afford) appropriate treatment, and exercise your legal right to compensation.
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