New mesothelioma drug turns cancer’s own defenses against it

Scientists are testing a counterintuitive way to fight mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos-linked cancer with few effective treatments. A new experimental mesothelioma drug kills cancer cells by disabling PRX3, an antioxidant defense that tumors use to survive intense oxidative stress. In an early clinical trial, it controlled disease progression in 67% of patients and produced encouraging survival results, raising hopes that the strategy could eventually be used against other cancers.

New mesothelioma drug turns cancer’s own defenses against it. New mesothelioma drug turns cancer’s own defenses against it Science News from research organizations New mesothelioma drug turns cancer’s own defenses against it Scientists are turning cancer’s own antioxidant defenses against it, with an experimental mesothelioma drug controlling disease progression in 67% of patients in an early trial. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can become trapped in the lungs, where they trigger chronic inflammation that may eventually lead to cancer decades later.

About 30,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year. Immunotherapy and chemotherapy can help some patients, but the disease is still extremely difficult to control. Patients, many of whom are men who previously worked in industries such as shipbuilding, oil refining, and asbestos manufacturing, have a median survival of about 12 months.

The five year survival rate is about 10 percent.