A potential new mesothelioma treatment begins its phase 1 clinical trial at one of the most prestigious
mesothelioma research clinics in the United States. The Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania is testing to see the safety and effectiveness of a new gene therapy drug for use on patients coping with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is one of the known
illnesses from Asbestos exposure. In addition to mesothelioma, the new gene therapy drug will test safety and effectiveness for treatment on patients coping with metastatic cancers from primary lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, breast melanoma, or sarcoma. To test the safety of the drug, BG00001, patients will receive two doses of the drug on the first day of the trial and, on the fifteenth day, subjects will be administered the drug through a catheter in the pleural space.
The drug, which could be a
breakthroughs new mesothelioma treatment, is described on the website of the National Cancer Institute as "a replication-defective recombinant adenoviral vector containing the human interferon-beta (hIFN-ß) gene."
Patients with "malignant pleural effusions secondary to lymphoma," "untreated brain metastases," or frequently reoccurring "malignant pleural effusions that require immediate mechanical or chemical pleurodesis for palliation" will be excluded from the trial.
The Principal Investigator for this trial is Daniel H. Sterman, M.D., one of the leading mesothelioma specialists in the United States. For more information on this potential new mesothelioma treatment, please follow this link to the
National Cancer Institute.
Mesothelioma, one of the
illnesses from Asbestos exposure, is a cancer in the lining of the lungs, known as the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), or the lining of the abdominal cavity, known as the peritoneum (peritoneal mesothelioma). While Mesothelioma is a rare disease in the general population, it is commonly found in individuals exposed to Asbestos. In fact, in North America, Asbestos is the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma. A new mesothelioma treatment is the greatest hope of would be welcomed by those suffering from the disease, as well as of the families of mesothelioma victims.
