Mesothelioma Blood Test, Pre-Surgery Immunotherapy Offer Hope
Research & Clinical Trials
Written by Travis Rodgers | Edited by Amy Edel
Researchers are reporting promising advances for people with pleural mesothelioma who can have surgery. One tested immunotherapy given before and after surgery. The other studied a blood test that helps doctors detect mesothelioma earlier than scans.
Doctors at several cancer centers, including Johns Hopkins, ran an early clinical trial testing immunotherapy for mesothelioma. They gave patients Opdivo (nivolumab) alone or with Yervoy (ipilimumab) before surgery. After surgery, doctors gave Opdivo again. The trial confirmed this approach is safe. Early results suggest giving immunotherapy before mesothelioma surgery may help some patients live longer.
The blood test study at Georgetown University looks for mesothelioma tumor DNA in the bloodstream. It lets doctors track how mesothelioma responds to treatment and identify patients at higher risk of the disease returning. Patients whose DNA levels dropped after therapy lived longer.
Together, these studies give doctors new ways to plan mesothelioma treatment and monitor the disease. They may help doctors personalize care and give patients more time with their loved ones.
Pre-Surgical Immunotherapy May Extend Life for Mesothelioma Patients
The phase II clinical trial tested pre-surgical (perioperative) immunotherapy for people with mesothelioma whose tumors could be removed surgically. More than 80% of patients were able to have surgery on schedule after receiving pre-surgical immunotherapy. Doctors monitored each patient closely to track treatment response and adjust follow-up care.
The study explored whether giving immunotherapy before surgery could help the immune system fight mesothelioma more effectively. Early results showed some patients lived longer than expected compared with historical outcomes, and doctors reported the treatment was generally well tolerated.
While the results remain preliminary, they suggest pre-surgical immunotherapy could provide meaningful benefits for some people with mesothelioma. The findings offer a foundation for larger studies that may help doctors tailor treatment to individual patients and improve both survival and quality of life. The study was published in Nature Medicine on September 8, 2025, marking an important step in mesothelioma research.
Researchers ran the clinical trial at multiple cancer centers, including Johns Hopkins and Georgetown University. They enrolled people with operable diffuse pleural mesothelioma, meaning it spreads widely across the lung lining.
They measured survival, treatment tolerance and if surgery can be done safely. Doctors used this information to understand who might benefit most from combining surgery with immune-based therapy.
Breakthrough Blood Test Detects Hidden Mesothelioma
Researchers tested a highly sensitive blood test that looks for circulating mesothelioma tumor DNA (ctDNA), which are tiny fragments tumors shed into the bloodstream. This test reads the genetic material of these fragments to find mesothelioma cells too small to see on scans.
The low mutation rate of mesothelioma tumors makes standard ctDNA detection difficult. Tracking ctDNA in the blood allowed doctors to monitor how the cancer changed over time and see whether treatments were working. Patients whose ctDNA levels dropped significantly or became undetectable after therapy tended to have better outcomes.
The test also helped identify patients likely to experience mesothelioma recurrence, even when scans appeared normal. This early detection could let doctors adjust treatment sooner, potentially improving survival and quality of life.
Georgetown University Medical Center researchers published the study on September 11, 2025. Dr. Joshua Reuss, Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou and their team tracked ctDNA changes in patients with mesothelioma.
They detected tiny traces of cancer that imaging scans missed and used the results to monitor treatment response. These findings give doctors new tools to act sooner and offer patients more personalized care, bringing hope for better outcomes in the future.
