Mesothelioma Research
Mesothelioma Drugs:
CelecoxibPemetrexed Disodium
Alimta
Onconase
International Journal of Cancer: Celecoxib Shows Antitumor Properties in Malignant Mesothelioma Model
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 06 - The selective COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib shows a marked chemopreventive effect on malignant mesothelioma (MM) in vitro and in a nude mouse model, according to a report in the April 10th International Journal of Cancer.Current approaches to treating MM have failed to alter its dismal prognosis, the authors explain, but one selective COX-2 inhibitor (NS-398) suppressed MM cell proliferation in vitro.
Dr. Alfonso Catalano from University of Marche, Ancona, Italy and colleagues assessed the effects of celecoxib on in vitro and in vivo experimental models of MM.
Indomethacin, NS-398, and celecoxib all inhibited cell proliferation of the MM cell line MPP89 without inhibiting the growth of a normal mesothelial cell line (NM-1), the authors report.
Celecoxib was most effective against MM cells, followed by NS-398 and indomethacin, the report indicates.
n a mouse model of MM, celecoxib treatment was associated with a significant increase in median survival from 45 days to 62 days, the researchers note, and there were 3 long-term (more than 120 days) survivors among the celecoxib-treated mice.
Celecoxib treatment-ofMM cells caused a marked shift from survival to apoptotic proteins, which activated a caspase-dependent programmed cell death, the results indicate, and the sensitivity of such cells to celecoxib could be synergistically enhanced by the adjunct use ofanti-VEGF agents.
"Our present data demonstrate that celecoxib is effective for inhibiting the in vitro and in vivo tumorigenicity potential of MM celts when administered early," the authors conclude. "Furthermore, celecoxib specifically induces MM cell apoptosis by affecting various proteins regulating these processes."
"These results provide the first evidence that celecoxib is effective for the prevention and regression of MM cells in experimental models of MM and strongly support ongoing clinical trials in MM patients," the investigators add.
Int J Cancer 2004;109:322-328.
Mon, May 24, 2004
Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America
Cancer drug gets FDA's approval
The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it has approved the first drug for treatment of a rare asbestos-related cancer. The drug, pemetrexed disodium, is used in combination with cisplatin to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma, the agency said. Sold under the trade name Alimta, the newly approved drug received priority review as an orphan drug, FDA said.Only about 2,000 new cases are diagnosed annually of this cancer, which occurs in the mesothelium, a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. This form of cancer is usually associated with a history of asbestos exposure. Asbestos fibers lodged in the lung attach to the outer lung lining and chest wall, causing tumors to grow, the agency said. By the time symptoms appear, the disease is usually advanced, and patients live, on average, nine to 13 months following diagnosis. Alimta will be distributed by Eli Lily and Company of Indianapolis.ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON
Fri, Feb. 06, 2004
FDA Approves Alimta for Treatment of Asbestos-Related Cancer
March 16, 2004. Puget Sound Cancer Centers was actively involved in the clinical testing for the new drug Alimta, the first approved treatment for asbestos-related cancer in patients who are not candidates for surgery.Alimta, developed by Eli Lilly and Company, recently received Food and Drug Administration approval for use in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs often associated with asbestos exposure. When combined with the drug cisplatin, a standard chemotherapy agent, Alimta extended the survival rate of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma by 30 percent.
Puget Sound Cancer Centers, in Edmonds and North Seattle, participated in a global Phase III clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of Alimta plus cisplatin versus cisplatin alone. This trial is one of many that Puget Sound Cancer Centers makes available to patients in the local communities.
"Our practice is committed to providing investigational therapies to patients in the King and Snohomish county areas. Through research we can often enhance patient care while increasing our understanding of the effectiveness and safety of new treatments," said Dr. Richard McGee, President and medical oncologist at Puget Sound Cancer Centers.
For more information about ongoing clinical trials for lung cancer, as well as other cancers, please contact Denise Parkinson, Administrator at 206-954-2021.
Puget Sound Cancer Centers (PSCC), operates outpatient community cancer centers located in North Seattle and Edmonds and is the single largest medical oncology practice in the State of Washington. PSCC is independently owned and managed by its ten medical oncology/hematology physicians.
The Mesothelioma Center
New drug shows promise in treating cancer
AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- Less than an hour after receiving chemotherapy, David Broyles, can take to the trails outside Austin, Texas on his mountain bike. The rides are a way of releasing stress, Broyles said, one not open to most cancer patients.But Broyles' treatment leaves him feeling strong and energetic, and the bike rides are almost like an extension of the therapy.
"I just feel that the better physical shape I'm in the better equipped I'm going to be to fight the disease," he said.
Broyles' affliction is mesothelioma, a cancer of the inner lining of the chest and abdomen. He found out he had it after routine hernia surgery.
The hernia "was a blessing in one way because it allowed us to pick (the cancer) up," says Dr. John Costanzi of Lone Star Oncology Consultants, one of Broyles' physicians. "Although it was extensive, at least we picked it up earlier than we would have."
The find also allowed Costanzi to test a new treatment, a drug called onconase, for some of the most life-threatening forms of cancer, including pancreatic and mesothelioma, which Costanzi says slowly kills the vital organs it surrounds.
None of the standard drugs have been shown to prolong life for victims of these cancers. But onconase may change that. In about one of three patients treated thus far, the drug appears to stop the tumor from spreading, shrink it, or even eliminate it altogether.
Onconase works slowly, but is far less toxic than standard cancer drugs. There is none of the hair loss, anemia, or nausea normally associated with chemotherapy.
Costanzi says the patients who react positively to onconase live longer and have a higher quality of life. Since his diagnosis nine months ago, Broyles has received more than 30 weekly treatments with onconase. Aside from some minor swelling of extremities -- mostly early in the treatment -- he has had no complaints.
His last two CAT scans show no more cancer -- a promising sign for a tumor that often kills in less than a year
Correspondent Dan Rutz
June 10, 1996
CNN