Mesothelioma Vaccine an Immunotherapy Breakthrough

Mesothelioma News

Positive Initial Results from Mesothelioma Vaccine Test

March 24, 2010 — Exciting new results from the first human test of a vaccine for mesothelioma showed positive results for limiting the growth of mesothelioma tumors. Ten patients with mesothelioma tested a combination of chemotherapy and the new vaccine with no adverse side effects.

This new vaccine breaks ground for the use of immunotherapy, which uses the bodies’ own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. The vaccine is unique in that it uses a patient’s dendrite cells (DC), with antigen from the patient’s tumor, to induce a T–cell response against mesothelioma tumors. Researchers in the Netherlands testing the vaccine published their study online ahead of its release in the upcoming print issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“The possibility to harness the potency and specificity of the immune system underlies the growing interest in cancer immunotherapy,” said study author Dr. Joachim Aerts, a pulmonary physician at Erasmus Medical Center. “One such approach uses the patient’s own DC to present tumor–associated antigens and thereby generate tumor–specific immunity.”

Mesothelioma – a Challenge for Cancer Researchers

Mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases have posed a continual problem for medical researchers. Despite the initial positive response of the vaccine, researchers acknowledge they have much work to do.

“The major problem in mesothelioma is that the immunosuppressive environment caused by the tumor will negatively influence our therapy so we are now working on a method to lower this immunosuppressive environment,” said Dr. Aerts. “We hope that by further development of our method it will be possible to increase survival in patients with mesothelioma and eventually vaccinate persons who have been in contact with asbestos to prevent them from getting asbestos related diseases.”

Despite Limits, Asbestos Diseases Expected to Rise

While asbestos has been banned or severely limited in use in many developed countries, experts suggest that the incidence of mesothelioma and asbestos related diseases will continue to increase until 2020. Asbestos diseases have a 10–40 year latency period after exposure, which leaves many who were exposed within that high–risk disease window.