Immunotherapy, a cancer treatment which is programmed to help boost the body’s natural defences in fighting cancer, can be further boosted in its efforts with the aid of live bacteria.
A study reported at the European Lung Cancer Conference indicates that when the live bacteria was paired with chemotherapy, a 59% response rate was found in patients suffering with malignant, pleural mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma the cancer related to asbestos exposure, affects the lining of the lung and stomach. Mesothelioma is very difficult to treat and standard chemotherapy treatments tend to result in only a 30% response rate. As a result of making use of live bacteria, the study indicates some good news for mesothelioma cancer sufferers.
One of the characteristics of a mesothelioma tumour is the high levels of the mesothelin antigen. Live bacteria contain genes to lessen the pathogenicity of the mesothelioma tumour. A particularly positive finding was the synergistic effect of the bacteria when working in conjunction with chemotherapy treatment as shown within the study’s data.
The study took data from 38 patients suffering with mesothelioma and provided them with the specific bacterium during various weekly cycles. In the resulting follow up, after nearly ten months the researchers found that up to 59% of sufferers had experienced some response to the treatment and most encouragingly, 94% achieved a disease control rate.
There were some minor side effects to the treatment including temperature spikes. These were associated with the infusion process and soon resolved within the following day or two. The researchers have therefore indicated the apparent safety of this proposed treatment, with no resulting toxicity for malignant pleural mesothelioma patients.
In summary, the study’s authors indicate that the bacterium used is an encouraging new addition to the treatment provided to mesothelioma patients. The study has not yet been completed and further trials are in the planning and it is hoped that they too, will reveal positive results.
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Reference: 1) 208O_PR: CRS-207 with chemotherapy (chemo) in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM): Results from a phase 1b trial. T. Jahan, US. Thursday 14th April 2016 – 17:45-18:00 Multidisciplinary management of thoracic malignancies Room A.