New Targeted Therapy Shows Promise Against Mesothelioma
A new drug shows how far medicine has come in treating mesothelioma, a fatal asbestos-related cancer, and how far it needs to go before there’s a cure. A trial in the United Kingdom (UK) shows that a drug once seen as a failure may extend the lives of those coping with mesothelioma.
The BBC reports that researchers in Southampton, UK, used a drug to slow the growth of mesothelioma for the first time. The disease is an aggressive cancer of the linings of the chest and abdominal cavities, and organs in them, including the lungs, heart, and intestines.
What is a PARP Inhibitor?
This NERO (Niraparib Efficacy in patients with unResectable MesotheliOma) trial looked at PARP (or poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, a protein that helps your cells repair themselves) inhibitors, which block the repair of damaged DNA (or deoxyribonucleic acid, the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms).
DNA damage is part of a cell’s life cycle. It doesn’t prevent cells from growing and dividing if the damage can be repaired.
PARP inhibitor studies have shown that it can improve the survival of patients with some breast and ovarian cancers. A prior study showed that mesothelioma doesn’t respond to this type of drug, but it suggested more evidence was needed to establish whether it could improve patient outcomes.
PARP inhibitors work especially well with cancers that have gene mutations that make DNA repair more difficult, such as BRCA gene mutations. Due to these defects, the cancer cells become more dependent on PARP to repair the damaged DNA. If DNA repairs can’t be made, the cell cannot divide to create more cancer cells, and instead it dies, according to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
PARP inhibitors have been used to treat some prostate, breast, and gynecologic cancers. Some PARP inhibitors include:
- Olaparib
- Talazoparib
- Rucaparib
- Niraparib
PARP inhibitors may be used with more traditional treatments like chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Chemotherapy damages cancer cells’ DNA to kill them. Using a PARP inhibitor to make DNA repairs more difficult could increase chemotherapy’s effectiveness.
PARP inhibitors used with both chemotherapy and immunotherapy have been shown to cut the chances of disease progression in patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer (a type of uterine cancer starting in the lining of the uterus).
What Did the Study Show?
Director of the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and co-lead of the trial, Prof. Gareth Griffiths, called it “a significant step forward.” The trial was run by the University of Leicester and the Cancer Research UK Southampton Clinical Trials Unit.
Eleven hospitals in the UK participated, and 88 patients whose mesothelioma treatment had become ineffective were included in the trial. Those given the PARP inhibitor niraparib had a 27% reduction in the chances that the mesothelioma would progress or cause death.
This delayed the progression of mesothelioma by an average of 1.5 months compared to patients receiving standard treatments. Many patients had a much longer period when their cancer didn’t grow.
What are the Side Effects?
PARP inhibitors’ side effects may include:
These symptoms are generally not severe and can be treated.
What are Researchers Looking Into?
PARP inhibitors have some limitations. The types of cancer they may treat are limited, and cancers can develop a resistance to them, making them less effective over time. But they’re the subject of ongoing research to widen the cancers they can treat and to come up with different mechanisms to sabotage cancer cell DNA repair.
Other targeted therapies are being researched to be used in combination with PARP to overcome resistance and improve responses. One of them is a PRMT inhibitor. PRMT (or protein arginine methyltransferase) is a protein in cells that interacts with DNA. A combination of these two has shown promise in studies.
Another research subject is reducing or eliminating side effects.
Take Legal Action Now — Contact Our Firm
If you have developed mesothelioma or another asbestos-related cancer, you may be entitled to compensation for your lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering. Your family may also obtain compensation for the losses they suffered because of your disease. Let us be your boots on the ground, seeking the maximum compensation for you and your family.
Call us at 855-385-9532, locally 502-589-5600, or contact us online to arrange a free initial consultation with a Satterley & Kelley PLLC lawyer.