Asbestos news

Asbestos news bbc.co.uk

Asbestos news

The New Clinical Immunotherapy Trial Targets Common Mesothelioma Proteins

T cells attack cancer cells

A biotech company that specializes in innovative cancer therapy has opened clinical trials to examine immunotherapy drugs that target proteins found in approximately 90 percent of malignant mesothelioma tumors.

This is one of the first clinical trials to specifically study the patient population characterized by the expression of this protein.

The goal is known as VISTA, a surface protein that blocks the immune system from working properly and allows mesothelioma to grow.

This drug is labeled CA-170, an orally available molecule and the only anti-VISTA drug currently being studied in cancer clinical trials.

And the potential can be enormous.

"The hope is by inhibiting VISTA - which is very prominent in mesothelioma - it will inhibit cancer growth and will also allow the immune system to attack cancer better," Dr. Robert Martell, head of Research and Development at Curis Inc., told the Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com. "The goal is for patients to control this cancer."

Cohort Kohothelioma Part of a Greater Study

A larger study of CA-170 - looking at solid tumors and other advanced lymphomas - has been active since 2016, but these drugs target different proteins.

A mesothelioma cohort in a larger study was added only recently. The first patient registered earlier this year.

"What we have seen so far [with other cancers] is very good security. This drug is well tolerated, without significant toxicity, "Martell said. "We have also seen clear signs of tumor shrinkage. We have a number of patients who experience tumor shrinkage. "

VISTA is unique because it is expressed in immune cells and mesothelioma tumor cells, according to Martell.

It has been identified as a potential resistance mechanism, limiting the effectiveness of other treatments that work with some cancers but not mesothelioma.

CA-170 has demonstrated the ability to inhibit VISTA and PD-L1, other immune system inhibitors that have been effectively targeted at other malignancies, including non-small cell lung cancer.

Hopefully Helping Keytruda Works Better

Previous research has also suggested the presence of VISTA in mesothelioma tumors is one reason that Keytruda's immunotherapy drugs work well only for a small percentage of mesothelioma patients.

The flexibility of CA-170 might solve the problem.

"VISTA is very expressed in mesothelioma, which indicates that tumor growth may depend on it. And our drugs target VISTA. That's why we think our medicine might have a chance to work well, "he said." Obviously we don't know, in the end, what will happen, but the hope is to control cancer. "

Unfortunately, the search for effective treatments for mesothelioma has frustrated the medical community for years.

Approximately 50 percent of those diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma last more than one year. An estimated 10 percent live within five years or more after diagnosis.

The FDA has not approved a new treatment for mesothelioma since 2004 when a combination of Alimta (pemetrexed) and cisplatin chemotherapy became the standard of care.

Immunotherapy drugs have shown hope - and work - with other cancers, but mesothelioma patients have not been this lucky.

Effective care has been difficult to understand.

CA-170 is the latest label - and potentially the most promising - to enter the clinical trial phase.

Asbestos news patriotnews.com

Mags Portman, Pioneer of HIV Prevention, Died of Mesothelioma at the age of 44

Mags Portman

Mags Portman, a trail pioneer in the United Kingdom in the struggle to prevent and control HIV, died Wednesday after a two-year battle with mesothelioma.

He is 44 years old.

Portman was praised for triggering a significant reduction in HIV diagnosis throughout the UK by his work as a researcher, doctor and vocal advocate.

He received international recognition for his work as an HIV consultant at the Mortimer Market Center, London, a progressive sexual health clinic that made PrEP (PrEP) a reality in the UK.

Portman played a key role in the 2014 study at The Royal London Hospital which proved the efficacy of the Truvada drug, which is part of PrEP and the fight against HIV in the UK.

He is a leader in educating activists and caregivers about the life saving potential of PrEP.

When the National Health Service suspends Truvada's approval, Portman works tirelessly in connecting patients and doctors with online resources and providing access to generic and affordable medicines.

"We feel sad because we lost Dr. Mags Portman, who is a hero and inspiration for the HIV / AIDS advocacy community, "wrote the Elton John AIDS Foundation on the charity Twitter account. "Its legacy - proves the efficacy of PrEP and makes it far more accessible internationally - continues in the life it helped save."

Mesothelioma UK, a national charity group, shared their condolences on Twitter.

The Battle of the Chronic Mesothelioma in the Blog

Portman was diagnosed in January 2017 with pleural mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure.

Portman noted much of his quarrel with mesothelioma in a blog titled "Not Doing Things By Half," which he started a month after diagnosis.

"I decided on the title of the blog after my mother reflected," Well, since you were a baby, you never did anything in half, "he said at first." And I think he's right. Sad, it looks like the cancer is similar. I don't do it half! Mesothelioma is a cancer that is challenging to say the least, and this will be my story. "

During the following two years, he wrote on a variety of topics, including family and his ongoing travel, work and care.

He wrote about first-line treatment with Alimta chemotherapy (pemetrexed) and second-line treatment with Navelbine (vinorelbine).

Portman wrote about his involvement in clinical trials and described his experience using Keytruda (pembrolizumab), an immunotherapy drug that was only slightly successful in combating mesothelioma.

He tried natural therapies like Madagascar Periwinkle, an alternative medicine based on plants. Portman consulted several times with a mesothelioma specialist Dr. Dean Fennell, chair of thoracic oncology at the University of Leicester who opened the first molecular stratification study for mesothelioma.

Asbestos news rt.com

Unfortunately, very few have survived for a long time.

Portman died at a hospital facility in his hometown of Leeds. His last blog post was in October.

"The HIV community is very sad about the loss of our Mags," said Deborah Gold, CEO of the National AIDS Trust. "He works to ensure that those at risk of being confident in the security of their PrEP supply. Through his actions, countless people who will have, do not have HIV. "

Disease Related to Asbestos is Still a Problem in England

Mesothelioma continues to be a problem in the UK, despite the prohibition of all use of asbestos and products containing asbestos since 1999.

The National Health Service estimates that 2,700 people are still diagnosed with mesothelioma every year, making it one of the highest incidence rates, per capita, in the world.

The continuing problem often comes from the use of asbestos which is still present in old construction throughout the country, including homes, schools and hospitals.

A recent study, driven by freedom of information requests by the British Broadcasting Corporation, found nine out of every 10 hospitals in the UK had asbestos somewhere in the building.

Mesothelioma UK has 24 nurse specialists across the country rotating through hospitals. They provide expertise in the care and support of mesothelioma patients.