Mesothelioma is a cancerous disease that affects the thin membranes surrounding organs inside the human body. It is a rare cancer that often affects the heart or lungs when it does manifest itself. A new study shows hope for reducing the size of mesothelioma tumors by using the drug LMB-100 in combination with immunotherapy. This could help patients in Pennsylvania who have advanced cases and face less than ideal outcomes for mesothelioma treatment.
A study recently published in the Science Translational Medicine journal suggests that patients with advanced cases of mesothelioma might stand a better chance at survival when LMB-100 is used in combination with immunotherapy. The experimental treatment uses the drug to train the body’s natural immunity defenses to recognize the cancerous mesothelioma cells and attack them.
LMB-100 targets the mesothelin that causes the cancer and can train the body to attack it. The researchers said they used LMB-100 in conjunction with an immune checkpoint inhibitor that boosts the body’s ability to kill cancer cells. The researchers chose to use pembrolizumab after initiating the LMB-100 and realized far better results than when using pembrolizumab or other immune checkpoint inhibitors without LMB-100.
Additional studies affirm that the combination of drug therapies holds promise for greatly reducing the cancerous effects of mesothelioma and enabling patients with more advanced cases to have a greater chance of beating their afflictions and living longer and healthier lives. With promising new treatment on the near horizon, patients who have advanced cases might find a greater benefit from their current treatments.
Medical doctors are trained to do what is best for their patients based on current medical knowledge. When that knowledge advances, the doctors should make themselves aware of promising new treatments and learn how to better apply them to local cases. A mesothelioma patient deserves all the best chances to beat the disease and continue enjoying a productive life. A medical malpractice attorney may be able to help patients if a physician neglected to use the most promising treatments.