Mesothelioma Help Cancer News

Drug That “Shows Promise” Against Rare Ovarian Cancer May Lead to Mesothelioma Therapy

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News

A genomics company announced last week that a drug approved for the treatment of leukemia “shows promise” against a rare type of ovarian cancer. Researchers identified a gene found in the cancer, also known to be associated with lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, as the target saying the drug “holds the potential for rapidly improving outcomes” in cancer patients. Continued research could uncover benefits in the treatment of mesothelioma, another rare cancer.

Inspired by a 22-year-old woman who died from ovarian cancer over 10 years ago, a team of researchers, led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), set out to find a drug that could effectively fight a rare form of the cancer, small cell carcinoma of the ovary hypercalcemic type (SCCOHT), according to a March 1 press release from Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). The team identified a mutation of the SMARCA4 gene as a driver for the deadly cancer that primarily affects women in their 20s. They then turned their focus to the drug ponatinib, a type of kinase inhibitor drug, that would interfere with the tumors’ reliance on particular kinase pathways.

In the study, the researchers found that the drug they considered the “most effective clinically approved RTK inhibitor” did its job. In laboratory models of SCCOHT tumors, ponatinb delayed tumor-doubling time by four-fold, while reducing tumor volumes by as much as 58.6 percent.

“Current treatment for this devastating cancer has such poor response rates and extreme toxicity that we must find better therapeutics,” said Dr. Jeffrey Trent, TGen President and Research Director, and the senior author of the study. “Our work identifies a new treatment strategy that could provide these young women with improved patient benefit.”

Like SCCOHT, mesothelioma, the signature cancer of asbestos exposure, is highly aggressive with a grim prognosis. The survival for mesothelioma patients varies from just four to 18 months after diagnosis. According to TGen, SCCOHT has a two-year survival rate of less than 35 percent.

Many researchers have found that kinases are involved in the gradual transformation of normal tissue in the lining of the lung into malignant pleural mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos. Various studies have confirmed that finding an effective kinase inhibitor may be the key to fighting mesothelioma as well.

The team concluded that further investigation of the anti-cancer drug for SCCOHT is warranted.

Read the study in the Feb. 9 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Could Vaccine Under Development “Eliminate” Mesothelioma and Other Cancers?

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News

It has been years since there has been a significant breakthrough in the fight against lung cancer or mesothelioma. The cancers are still a death sentence for many patients, with the 10-year survival rate just five percent. However, scientists continue to spend countless hours in a quest to find an effective treatment for the aggressive cancers. Now, researchers report that by turning to the latest trend in research by targeting immune cells they may be one step closer to finding a cure for many types of cancer.

Ronald Levy, MD, professor of oncology, and Instructor of Medicine Idit Sagiv-Barfi, PhD, both of Stanford University School of Medicine, partnered up in research designed to activate T cells, or immune  cells, in tumors. They injected two immune-stimulating agents into mouse models, according to a Jan. 31 press release from Stanford. What they found was that the drugs worked “startlingly well”  and successfully eliminated “all traces of cancer” in the mice, including distant, untreated metastases.

“When we use these two agents together, we see the elimination of tumors all over the body,” said Dr. Levy. “This approach bypasses the need to identify tumor-specific immune targets and doesn’t require wholesale activation of the immune system or customization of a patient’s immune cells.”

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer typically affecting the lining of the lungs. Primarily caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, most cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed 30 years or more after exposure. Like many cancers, treating mesothelioma is challenging. However, recent successes with immunotherapyhave given mesothelioma patients significant improvements in their health.

Immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. The aim of immunotherapy is to harness the strength of the immune system in a specifically focused attack on cancer cells.

See the success Mavis Nye of England had with immunotherapy.

The Stanford pair wanted to build on these successes, but eliminate the major downsides of immunotherapy, such as life-threatening complications, extended preparation, and costly treatment, that the current immunotherapy treatments cause.

The Stanford researchers found that by injecting their compound directly into the tumor they can reactivate the T-cells to then “lead the charge” to kill the cancer cells. T-cells are a type of white blood cell that continuously roam around within our bodies, seeking out and destroying cancer cells and infections. In the case of mesothelioma, and many other aggressive cancers, the cancer cells avoid detection from the T-cells and the cancer thrives.

“All of these immunotherapy advances are changing medical practice,” Levy said. “Our approach uses a one-time application of very small amounts of two agents to stimulate the immune cells only within the tumor itself. In the mice, we saw amazing, bodywide effects, including the elimination of tumors all over the animal.”

In the study, the “dual immunotherapy” not only shrunk tumors that had metastasized but also led to long-term survival.

The agents used in the trial are currently in separate clinical trials, but the Stanford team hopes to combine them for “great benefit for cancer patients.”

Mesothelioma is diagnosed in close to 3,000 Americans each year with the same number dying from the disease. Research such as this is critical for bringing hope to the cancer community.

Find the results of the study in the Jan. 31 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

Understanding Reason for Drug Resistance May Lead to Increased Effectiveness of Mesothelioma Drug

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News

Researchers report they better understand why patients eventually develop resistance to the anti-cancer drug Tagrisso (osimertinib) that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation in lung cancer patients. Using quantum and molecular mechanics, the researchers found “subtle changes” in the biomarker that left the drug ineffective. This finding could point researchers to a way to enhance the drug’s effectiveness for lung cancer and mesothelioma patients.

EGFR is a protein that is an anti-cancer drug target due to its role in cell proliferation. Osimertinib is an EGFR inhibitor for the way it binds to the EGFR protein and switches off a cancer cell‘s ability to spread and divide. The drug is generally effective in stopping the spread of cancer, however, according to researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK, most patients develop resistance within one year of treatment. Drug resistance arises, note the researchers, “because the EGFR protein mutates, so that the drug binds less tightly.”

The researchers took a closer diagnosis at why one particular mutation, the L718Q EGFR mutation in which just a single amino acid was changed, led the cancer to fight off, or resist, osimertinib. It took a unique collaboration “between medicinal and computational chemists and clinical oncologists” from the Universities of Bristol and Parma in Italy to resolve the reason for the resistance, according to a Feb. 12 press release from the University of Bristol.

Through a series of sophisticated molecular simulations the team revealed that the mutant protein L718Q “changes in a way that stops the drug reacting and binding to it.” The simulations ultimately allowed them to delve into the chemical reactions in EGFR, and reveal the “mechanisms” behind the drug resistance that, according to the researchers, “can be subtle and non-obvious.”

“Now the challenge is to exploit this discovery in the development of novel drugs targeting EGFR mutants for cancer treatment in the future,” said Adrian Mulholland, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bristol.

According to a 2009 article in Current Drug Targets, EGFR overexpression has been shown in more than 50% of pleural mesothelioma patients. Approximately 15% of patients with lung cancer in the U.S. express EGFR mutations.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with an estimated 234,030 new diagnoses and 154,050 deaths in 2018, according to the American Cancer Society. Pleural mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer, affecting the lining of the lungs, with 3,000 new diagnoses each year, and nearly the same number of Americans dying from the terminal cancer. These grim statistics make continued research into increasing the efficacy of cancer drugs critical.

Read the study in the Feb. 3 issue of Chemical Science.

Support National Cancer Prevention Month to Help Raise Awareness of Mesothelioma

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News

The Prevent Cancer Foundation announced its support of National Cancer Prevention Month. The month of February serves as a time to promote the organization’s belief that an “emphasis on prevention, not just treatment, could help decrease cancer deaths and incidence rates.” This month is also yet another opportunity to raise much-needed awareness for mesothelioma.

The primary focus of prevention month is to let the public know that through diet, exercise and lifestyle changes they can prevent many cancers from developing in the first place. In fact, according to statistics, just five percent of cancers are hereditary, giving many control over their health. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for mesothelioma patients who develop the cancer after being exposed to a deadly fiber – sometimes decades earlier.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer typically affecting the lining of the lungs. Caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, usually from industrial products and machinery at the victim’s workplace, most cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed 30 years or more after exposure. The only way to prevent the cancer from developing in the first place is to eliminate exposure to asbestos.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has stated that asbestos is a carcinogen and there is no safe level of exposure. However, the agency was overruled in its 1989 attempt to ban its use in the U.S., and it is still legal today. Some uses of asbestos in the U.S. were limited in the 1970s, and many uses were banned altogether, such as in commercial paper, in artificial fireplace embers, wall patching compounds, and flooring felt, but it is still legal in other products.

“Together, we can end asbestos-caused cancers,” said Linda Reinstein, the president/CEO and co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, who is doing her part to help bring a ban to asbestos in the U.S.

The ADAO is committed to preventing mesothelioma from destroying the lives of others, and provides these facts about mesothelioma and asbestos:

• Asbestos is legal and lethal in the U.S.
• Asbestos kills 40 Americans every day.
• Asbestos causes mesothelioma and lung, gastrointestinal, laryngeal, colorectal, and ovarian cancers as well as non-malignant lung, and respiratory diseases.

Make sure you get informed about the causes of preventable cancer, and spread the word to help decrease the number of cancer diagnoses in the country.

Whether you are encouraging friends and family to watch what they eat or to get moving a little more, also let them know about the dangers of asbestos.

“It remains imperative that we identify strategies to enhance the dissemination and implementation of our current knowledge of cancer prevention,” notes the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announcing its support of prevention month.

Like National Cancer Research Month on Facebook and follow #cancerpreventionmonth on social media to show your support.

“The Prevent Cancer Foundation envisions a future where cancer incidence and mortality will be significantly reduced through preventive measures.”

Nearly 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Help do your part to change that statistic.

For more information about National Cancer Prevention Month see the Prevent Cancer Foundation. https://preventcancer.org/

Sources:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/learn-about-asbestos#asbestos
• American Association for Cancer Research
  https://www.aacrfoundation.org/Pages/february-is-national-cancer-prevention-month.aspx
• ADAO
  http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/archives/46254
•  Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
  http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/

Miracle Material – A Deadly Diagnosis

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News, Scholarship

By: Kennedy McAlpin

One of the most tragic, yet mystifying, occurrences on our planet is the disease of cancer. It comes in many shapes and forms and in most instances is unpreventable. However, for one particular type of cancer, prevention is very easy, making it one of the most frustrating. Mesothelioma happens to be the type of cancer that can be prevented by avoiding exposure to asbestos. Unfortunately, asbestos has been flooding into our country for the last two centuries and continues to do so. It has made its way into our homes, businesses, pipelines, and more. When we first began using it, asbestos seemed like the miracle material- strong and inflammable. However, we have discovered since then that this miracle material is actually a silent killer. The hope for ridding our country of this disease can only come from awareness and education, informing everyone that asbestos is extremely harmful and potentially deadly for those who are exposed.

For those families who are dealing or have dealt with mesothelioma, finding closure and comfort is extremely important during times of loss. As a future Speech-Language Pathologist, my hope is to work with individuals dealing with cancer of all kinds in order to improve their quality of life through effective speech. As anyone who has dealt with cancer knows, the quality of life during the last days of someone’s fight is of the upmost importance to that individual and their family. For me to be able to help would be the most rewarding experience. However, completely ridding our country of this toxic material should be our top priority.

Raising awareness of the Dangers of Asbestos is the number one way we can prevent mesothelioma and increase early cancer detection. The use of websites and scholarships such as these greatly expand our population’s knowledge on the topic of asbestos and mesothelioma. People who have been exposed to asbestos need to realize that they are in great danger. Through portals that can vastly spread information, such as social media sites and news sources, individuals will be able to gain information that is vital for early detection and treatment. How can someone take action towards health problems if they do not realize they are in danger? If continued publications spread word of this deadly disease, one day, mesothelioma will be a killer of the past.

However, it is going to take the hard work of very dedicated individuals to bring this awareness to a rise. Our government officials need to be forced to take a hard look at the legislation of this country. As of now, asbestos continues to be imported into our country every day at an alarming rate. In fact, imports of asbestos increased by 25% in 2011 from the previous year. Americans are being lead astray, believing that our country is becoming safer from the dangers of asbestos. This is just not true. What makes this even more frustrating is that over 50 countries have already banned the importation and use of asbestos. America is simply disregarding the obvious fact that there are alternative materials to asbestos that are affordable and safe. It is my duty and the duty of other informed individuals to raise our voices against asbestos.

When originally deciding to become a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), I was unaware of how vast the field exactly was. I assumed that most speech-language pathologists took on the role of working in elementary schools helping kids with their articulation. However, after being in the program for only a few short weeks, I have come to realize that our realm of work is extremely broad. I have specifically seen the impact of speech-language pathologists in my anatomy class. Realizing the broad range of people I have the opportunity to work with has opened my eyes and greatly increased my passion for the field of speech-language pathology. When working with geriatrics, SLP’s have the opportunity to help people who have endured strokes and other health conditions.

However, this can also extend to those who are dealing with cancers such as mesothelioma. One of the symptoms of mesothelioma is shortness of breath. When individuals experience shortness of breath this directly affects their ability to speak. Speech is powered by the lungs and when the lungs do not have enough power to provide the adequate amount of air supply for speaking, speech can become disfluent, choppy, and often times at a level that is too low to hear. Very quickly, communicating can become very frustrating for an individual with shortness of breath, chest pains, or chronic coughing. Fortunately, SLP’s are highly trained in giving therapy that can greatly improve an individual’s speech when experiencing these symptoms. The ability to effectively communicate is a daily life skill that we often take for granted. For someone who is potentially facing their last days with their family and loved ones, communication is something that should not be sacrificed. As an SLP, my hopes are to have the privilege to equip mesothelioma patients with the ability to speak both effectively and comfortably.

I am able to empathize with family members of mesothelioma patients as I have dealt with my own grandpa suffering from lung cancer. Thanks to his ability to speak during his last days on Earth, he was able to share with me stories from his time serving our country in the Navy. These are memories that I will always cherish. For those families who have lost loved ones to mesothelioma, there are no words that can express my deepest apologies. I cannot pretend to understand the frustration that comes from knowing that the disease that took your family member was one that could have been prevented. However, the best thing to do in order to honor your family member would be to channel this frustration into a passion for spreading the word about asbestos. In order to prevent asbestos from taking thousands of more lives each year, action must be taken right now. Our families are continuing to be exposed to this toxic material because of lack of awareness and industries refusing to use alternatives for asbestos.

Although cancer is very mystifying, mesothelioma is not. The cause is known and prevention has been found. This is one cancer that should be eradicated from our country. However, word must spread. In order for word to spread, we must raise our voices to our government officials. Legislation must be passed that completely bans asbestos from entering through our boarders. The fact that over 50 countries worldwide have already stopped importing asbestos and America continues to do so is appalling. But I refuse to stay silent. Through my awareness, others will become aware. Through my education, people suffering from this disease will be able to have a better quality of life during their last moments with family. Through the inspiration of families who have lost loved ones to mesothelioma, others will be revived. Not a single person more should lose their life to asbestos because now, we know.

References
Mayo Clinic. “Symptoms (of Mesothelioma).” 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 02 Oct. 2015. 
MesotheliomaHelp.org. “Causes of Mesothelioma.” 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2015
Povtak, Tim. “Asbestos Imports Have Started to Rise Again, Fueled by Manufacturers’ Demands.” The Mesothelioma Center. 26 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.
Seikel, J. Anthony., King, Douglas., & Drumright, David. Anatomy & Physiology for Speech Language, and Hearing {Fourth Edition}. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Cengage Learning; 2010.
The Mesothelioma Center. “Asbestos Exposure.” Web. 02 Oct. 2015.