Mesothelioma Treatment Improved with Addition of Sirolimus

Researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts have found that adding sirolimus to chemotherapy with cisplatin was more effective at treating mesothelioma than with cisplatin alone.

Sirolimus, which is also known as rapamycin, is an immunosuppressant drug traditionally used to prevent rejection of organ transplantations (especially used in kidney transplants). Because of its anti-proliferative effects, sirolimus is currently being investigated as a potential treatment option in a number of cancers, including malignant mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure. The disease exhibits a long latency period of 20 to 50 years after initial exposure to asbestos. This long latency period can make the cancer both difficult to diagnosis and to treat. Currently there is no cure for mesothelioma, but a number of treatment options are available to reduce pain and increase quality of life.

The immunosuppressant drug sirolimus is a well-established inhibitor of “mammalian target of rapamycin” (mTOR), which is a protein that affects cell growth, cell proliferation, cell survival and mortality, protein synthesis and more. Scientists believe mTOR contributes to the aggressiveness of mesothelioma cancer, thus suppressing mTOR could potentially make the cancer easier to treat.

The researchers “sought to determine whether combination treatment with sirolimus and cisplatin would enhance cell death in malignant pleural mesothelioma.” In the study, individual malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines (samples) were incubated with sirolimus or cisplatin alone, or in combination, and the results were analyzed.

Upon observation of the results, the researchers found that “Sirolimus appears to enhance the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines through the mammalian target of rapamycin pathway. These results provide a basis for the clinical evaluation of combined sirolimus and cisplatin chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma.”

Across the globe studies such as this one are being conducted with hopes of finding a cure for this aggressive disease. These clinical trials and research studies are making advancements in the treatment of mesothelioma, and a number of patients volunteer for such studies to receive the latest in treatment options.

Additional information about mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 11:06 am and is filed under Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Research, Mesothelioma Treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.