Thalidomide and new Immune Therapy are Successful in Clinical Trials

Reasearchers find Thalidomide and Immune Therapy effective in treating Mesothelioma in clinical trials.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) February 25, 2008 -- AdviceForMesothelioma.com, a newly launched Mesothelioma website focusing on Mesothelioma news and information, is reporting that Thalidomide, the drug that left thousands of newborn babies severely malformed in the 1950's and 1960's, along with cutting edge immune therapy show promises as new treatments for Mesothelioma. This information is welcome news for Mesothelioma patients cling onto older ineffective treatments.

Studies reveal that once chemotherapy is administered, Thalidomide can further delay tumor regrowth. Current Phase 2 studies find that patients who receive Thalidomide combined with other Mesothelioma fighting drugs result in a 44% progressive disease patient response rates and rates as high as 50% in stable disease patients. Thalidomide is well tolerated in the trial patients except for dry mouth, paresthesias, and constipation.

Thalidomide is not the only new treatment that shows promise fighting Mesothelioma. New Immune therapies are also successful in fighting asbestos caused cancer. Dr. Currie Senior Research Fellow at the School of Medicine & Pharmacology, QEII Medical Centre in Western Australia and Dr. Robbert van der Most, PhD, take a novel approach with their Mesothelioma research. These doctors treat Mesothelioma as a virus or bacteria. Treating this cancer as a bacteria or virus enables the body to use its immune system to stave off Mesothelioma growth.

At the heart of this ground breaking research, Dr. Currie and Dr Robbert van der Most take toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists and inject them into tumors. The toll-like receptor agonists turns on immune system notifying it that there is a danger in the body, which results in the immune system fighting against the cancer. The results of these new immune therapy tests are eye opening.

When mice are injected with TLR agonists, the cancer completely vanishes in forty-percent of all of the mice. The other mice show at least some regression in cancer. Studies on humans are in the works could change the way Mesothelioma is changed in the foreseeable future.

Thalidomide and Immune Therapy show success in clinical trials. Time will only tell if science proves these new treatments safe and effective, which will ulitmately help treat Mesothelioma patients in the near future.

Sources:

Currie AJ, et al. Targeting the effector site with IFN- ­inducing TLR ligands reactivates tumor-resistant CD8 T cell responses to eradicate established solid tumors. The Journal of Immunology, 2008;180:1535-1544.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461252

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