The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston has announced that they are currently searching for mesothelioma patients to take part in a clinical trial that will study the efficacy of combination chemotherapy consisting of gemcitabine and cisplatin administered in the operating room and put into the chest and abdomen for one hour. This Phase I trial will also research the effects of heating the chemotherapy to a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius and the effect of cytoprotection agents amifostine and sodium thiosulfate to counteract potential side effects of chemotherapy.
The study, which will be completed in 2010, will also involve the surgical procedure known as extrapleural pneumonectomy or pleurectomy/decortication, which includes the resection of the lung, the lining of the lung (pleura), the covering of the heart (pericardium), and the muscle that separates the chest and abdomen (diaphragm). The chemotherapy drugs will be administered immediately following the surgery.
Candidates for this clinical trial and other trials being conducted around the country must meet certain criteria to participate. Eligibility must be determined by the patient’s oncologist and by the coordinators. If the guidelines are met, enrollment can then occur.
Each year, numerous clinical trials are conducted to address new and novel treatments for pleural mesothelioma, pericardial mesothelioma, and peritoneal mesothelium, the three types of this difficult-to-treat cancer. Mesothelioma develops due to exposure to asbestos. Consistent exposure to the toxic mineral eventually leads to lung scarring and, in many cases, the formation of cancerous tumors. Most individuals who develop mesothelioma symptoms and – eventually - the disease, are those who were employed in jobs where asbestos was used on a regular basis. This includes tradesmen such as shipbuilders, welders, construction workers, auto mechanics, carpenters, brick layers, boilermakers, plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, railroad workers, and many others.
Currently, mesothelioma treatment generally consists of chemotherapy or radiation. Some patients are candidates for surgery as well. But because mesothelioma often takes decades to surface, many victims are not diagnosed until their cancer has reached Stage III or IV. At that point, treatment options are few and often used merely as palliative measures to keep the patient as comfortable as possible.
Physicians such as Dr. David Sugarbaker, chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and one of the coordinators of this study, have dedicated themselves to the research of novel therapies for mesothelioma in the hopes of finding drugs and other methods that will better combat the disease, even in its later stages, and lead to longer life expectancies for those who have been victims of asbestos exposure. As founder of the International Pleural Mesothelioma Program, Sugarbaker lectures both nationally and internationally on the importance of clinical trials like the one currently being conducted at Dana-Farber and stresses the need for more and better funding for mesothelioma research.
