Mesothelioma is an extremely rare form of cancer. It’s also aggressive and the majority of patients don’t last for five years after diagnosis. Cancer death rates are expected to rise to 13 million by 2030 and it’s necessary for new innovations in cancer treatments to appear.
There’s a significant amount of crossover in surviving mesothelioma. Lung cancer treatments are increasingly being used to help mesothelioma patients suffering the pleural form of the disease. Of course for the other forms of mesothelioma, like the peritoneal one explained here at https://survivingmesothelioma.com/mesothelioma/peritoneal/ they will require alternative treatment plans.
Here are just some of the lung cancer treatments that can help with the pleural form of mesothelioma.
Pembrolizumab
This is a type of drug typically used for non-small cell lung cancer patients. But in studies it demonstrated that it was twice as effective as chemotherapy.
The revelation that it’s superior to chemotherapy has led to it being brought to clinical trials for use with mesothelioma. Walter Merth, who has survived mesothelioma, says that the drug has helped him to be able to live a good quality of life since his diagnosis.
Nivolumab
This is a single-agent immunotherapy drug that has been in use since 2015. It was approved by the FDA to treat skin cancer too. But it’s now being seriously considered for use with mesothelioma patients as it boosts the immune system and makes it more likely that tumors can be successfully inhibited.
Some mesothelioma patients who have taken it have seen increased lifespans.
Atezolizumab
This is another immunotherapy drug that’s currently in production. It has yet to receive FDA approval for treating mesothelioma, but it’s continuing to be tested via clinical trials.
Originally, it was only approved for use with specific types of bladder cancer. Since that time it has been used in non-small cell lung cancer. It has been found to be particularly effective for patients who are no longer responding to traditional chemotherapy treatments.
CimaVax
CimaVax gains credit for being the first ever vaccine developed to treat lung cancer. Created in Cuba, it has made its way to the US.
It acts against epidermal growth that lung cancer patients typically experience. It’s been explored for the same reason for use with mesothelioma patients.
The only reason it has taken so long to try is because of the lifting of the Cuban embargo by the US.
CAR T Cell Therapy
Known as Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell therapy, this has been developed for cancer therapy and to help treat various blood cancers.
The patient’s white blood cells are literally reprogrammed in a laboratory to make them more effective at attacking cancer cells. At its heart it’s a type of gene therapy customized for the specific patient. It has already shown an extremely high level of effectiveness against a variety of different lung cancers.
Last Word – Lung Cancer Treatments a Game Changer?
These five treatments have been effective with lung cancer. Early evidence shows that mesothelioma patients could benefit from these non-surgical treatments.
For now, mesothelioma sufferers should be cautious about these drugs as they’re still involved in clinical trials. However, the future for new treatments is bright.
Do you believe that these treatments will change the game?