There is new hope for patients with cancer related to asbestos mesothelioma. A commonly used to treat skin cancer drug was paired with another leading anti-cancer drug by the University of WA researchers and cancer specialists at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Australia. This combination has completed advanced mesothelioma tumors successfully in half of their test animals.
Imiquimod, a usually applied to treat skin cancer cream when combined with antiCD40 triggered an immune response in test mice that have attacked their cancer. The researchers said that half of the treated mice were cured even when their tumors were quite advanced. The supervisor of research immunologist Dr Andrew Currie, believes that this discovery is a major breakthrough in the treatment of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
Thousands of people die from mesothelioma each year. This incurable disease is almost always caused by exposure to fine asbestos fibers in the air that lodge in the mesothelium protective sac that covers the lungs and other internal organs. These fibers then cause abnormal cell growth. In most cases, mesothelioma symptoms do not appear more than 20 years after exposure.
One of the biggest benefits of this research is that both drugs have been studied for safety. Imiquimod already commercially available and antiCD40, an anti-cancer drug known to reduce the size of cancerous tumors, being tested currently in clinical trials, the movement of this new treatment should proceed faster than previous treatment options . Although imiquimod some known side effects when used for treating skin cancer, such as blisters and blackened skin, most of these symptoms disappear when the processing is completed.
University Professor Steve Broomfield believes the new treatment of mesothelioma is expected to be popular because it causes a rampage by dormant killer cells that attack cancer and at least double the survival time. We join the leaders of the National Center for Asbestos Related Disease (Ncard) in Australia, as we also hope that this new combination treatment will "revolutionize" the treatment of mesothelioma in the coming years.
